Queen Elizabeth II was known for her matter-of-factness, but on rare occasions during her reign she shed tears in public. She famously shed tears when the royal yacht Britannia was decommissioned, and she is known to have wept for war victims on Remembrance Sunday, but the first time she showed emotion in public was in 1966.

On October 21 of that year, an avalanche struck the Welsh mining village of Aberfan. The catastrophe, later documented in a moving episode of The Crown, claimed 144 lives, including 116 children.

As news of the catastrophe spread, the nation mourned and Queen Elizabeth faced one of the most difficult moments of her reign. Queen Elizabeth's initial response drew criticism, and she postponed her visit to Aberfan for eight days, sending Prince Philip instead.

Arriving with Prince Philip on October 29, the Queen inspected the disaster site and met with the bereaved families. Witnesses recalled the Queen's shocked expression as she witnessed the devastation.

Brian Hoey, who was working for the BBC at the time, wrote an article for the Daily Mail to mark the anniversary of the disaster on October 21.

The former journalist said that Queen Elizabeth “wanted to see the grieving parents and the surviving children” during her visit. Hoey also commented that he advised Lord Snowdon, who was married to Princess Margaret at the time, to tell the Queen “to keep off for a week or two” about her trip to Aberfan.

The visit marked a pivotal moment in the Queen's public persona. This rare display of emotion touched deeply the hearts of the British public, especially the families affected by it in Abafan.

In the years that followed, Queen Elizabeth maintained her connection to Abafan, visiting the village on numerous occasions, including attending the opening of the Abafan Memorial Gardens in the 1970s. After the earthquake, she visited Aberfan with Prince Philip and well remembers being presented by a young girl with a posy with the heartbreaking inscription, 'From the children left behind in Aberfan'”

.

Years later, Prince William and Princess Kate followed in the Queen's footsteps, visiting Aberfan and visiting the same gardens in 2023 to mourn those whose lives were tragically cut short.