Kate Middleton holds back tears at royal event with Prince William
Kate Middleton was on the brink of tears yesterday and she and Prince William attended a UK Holocaust Memorial Day commemorative ceremony.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge sat in the front row alongside survivors of the Holocaust and took to the stage to light six candles, which will be used to light all 75 candles and mark 75 years since the former Nazi death camp of Auschwitz was liberated.
Kate looked to be holding back tears as she listened to Holocaust survivors speaking about their experiences and Prince William paying tribute to his late great-grandmother, Princess Alice.
"When the persecution of the Jews by the Germans began, Princess Alice asked to be informed about the fate of the Cohen family,” William began.
“Having been informed by friends and by her lady in waiting about the plight of Mrs Cohen and her young daughter, the Princess decided to offer her hospitality to the two ladies; in fact, to hide them in her home despite the danger this entailed.
"The Princess put a small two-room apartment on the third floor at the disposal of Mrs. Cohen and her daughter.
“It was thanks to the courageous rescue of Princess Alice that the members of the Cohen family were saved. The members of the Cohen family left the residence three weeks after liberation, aware that by virtue of the Princess's generosity and bravery had spared them from the Nazis.”
Yesterday, just before the event took place, Kensington Palace released two photographs the Duchess of Cambridge captured of two Holocaust survivors, Yvonne and Steven, in honour of Holocaust Memorial Day in the UK.
“It was a true honour to have been asked to participate in this project and I hope in some way Yvonne and Steven’s memories will be kept alive as they pass the baton to the next generation,” Kate Middleton wrote.
The portraits will form part of a new exhibition opening later this year by the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, the Jewish News and The Royal Photographic Society, which will feature 75 images of survivors and their family members.
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