Royal visit to Aberfan: 1997

9 May 1997 was a day of celebration yet sad reflection. The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh planted a commemorative tree in Aberfan's Garden of Remembrance. Her Majesty spoke to the largest ever gathering of survivors and relatives of the victims of the 1966 disaster, many meeting for the first time since that day.

It was a poignant return visit for the Queen, who first went there a week after the disaster, and again in 1973.

Later the Queen and the Duke went on to officially open the Korean Halla Euro Enterprise factory in Merthyr Tydfil and then to the Royal Mint in Llantrisant. There, they struck the first Royal Golden Wedding coin, introduced later that year to celebrate the couple’s 50 years of marriage.

Date of Broadcast: 9 May 1997