“Throughout all this, and through all the years, your unconquerable spirit has shone all the more brightly for the darkness which it has overcome.
“No one should ever have to bear what you, as a community, have endured. But no one could have borne it with greater strength, resilience, or hope.”
The monarch concluded: “So, please know how deeply we feel with your sorrow, how greatly we admire your strength, and how you will, always, be in our hearts. Pob bendith ar bobl Aberfan.”
The disaster remains one of the most devastating events in modern Welsh history. After leaving the Memorial Garden, the King, Queen and Prince of Wales walked to the Aberfan and Merthyr Vale Community Centre, greeting local residents along the way.