Kate Middleton and Prince William make poignant appearance as a duo for first time this year

The Prince and Princess of Wales made a poignant appearance as a duo for the first time this year as they shared a "solemn moment of remembrance".

After undertaking several solo engagements since resuming royal duties after Christmas, Prince William and Kate have now made their first joint appearance of 2025 as they attended a Holocaust Memorial Day service. Whilst King Charles marked Holocaust Memorial Day and the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau in Poland, the Prince and Princess of Wales had a "solemn moment of remembrance" in London. The royal couple took part in a candle lighting ceremony alongside representatives from the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust and the Anne Frank Trust at Guildhall.

Prince William went on to deliver a poignant speech and described himself and Kate being at the official memorial event as a "great honour". As per Sky News, the future King praised the exceptional bravery of survivors for sharing their experiences and spoke of how this helps ensure that people "never forget".

"I am honoured to join you today to mark Holocaust Memorial Day and to remember the millions murdered during the Holocaust and in subsequent genocides," he declared. "We also remember those survivors who have lived with scars, both mental and physical. Their bravery, in sharing with us the most harrowing moments of their lives, is extremely powerful and ensures that we never forget. I assure them we never will."

Echoing this sentiment, the Prince and Princess of Wales shared glimpses of this moving event on social media with a caption that honoured this "moment of remembrance".

"A solemn moment of remembrance and hope for the future at today’s Holocaust Memorial Day service. Honoured to take part in this important event to commemorate the lives lost in the Holocaust and other genocides," they wrote.

In another post the couple also reflected upon how they were remembering the six million Jewish people murdered in the Holocaust "as well as the victims of more recent genocides, including Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur". During their time at the official Holocaust Memorial Day event Prince William and Kate also met with survivors of the Holocaust and the future Queen was seen embracing Yvonne Bernstein and Steven Frank.

The Princess had previously met both of them when she photographed them with their grandchildren back in 2020 as part of the commemorations for the 75th anniversary of the end of the Holocaust. Sharing these portraits alongside photos of Yvonne and Steven at the memorial event, the Waleses explained that it was "wonderful" to see them again and expressed how it is "so important to come together, learn both from and about the past, and to take actions to make a better future for all".

Whilst Prince William and Kate paid their respects on Holocaust Memorial Day in London, King Charles attended several commemorative events in Pola and became the first serving British monarch to visit Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp on 27th January. During a visit to the Jewish Community Centre in Krakow, His Majesty delivered a heartfelt speech which ended with his urging that there is “much work” still to be done to remember the past and build a more compassionate world.

"Ladies and gentlemen, in a post-Holocaust world, projects such as this Centre are how we recover our faith in humanity. They also show us there is much work still to be done if we are not just to remember the past, but to use it to inspire us to build a kinder and more compassionate world for future generations; a world of which we can be truly proud," he said. "And this remains the sacred task of us all."