Royal Jewels of Remembrance on Holocaust Memorial Day

On Monday, royals from across Europe joined survivors, dignitaries, and heads of state and government on the site of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in Poland to reflect and remember on the 80th anniversary of the camp’s liberation.

Soviet troops liberated the men, women, and children held in the complex of camps at Auschwitz-Birkenau on January 27, 1945. Seven thousand people, many of whom were seriously ill, were inside the camps that day. But they were just a fraction of those who had passed through the gates of the camps. More than a million people, most of them Jews, had been murdered inside the complex over the four years before liberation.

Since 2005, the date of the liberation of Auschwitz has been commemorated as International Holocaust Remembrance Day, and the site is now preserved as a museum, serving as an important physical witness to the horrors of the Holocaust.

Eighty years after liberation, the number of survivors of Auschwitz is growing smaller. A handful of remaining survivors spoke during Monday’s service, bearing powerful witness to their personal experience inside the camp. The heads of state, including royals from across Europe, were visibly moved as the survivors addressed the gathering.

Marian Turski, a 98-year-old survivor, shared, “It is absolutely understandable, if not downright obvious, that people, that the media, turn to us, to those that survived, so that we share with them our memories. Those who lived to see freedom, there were hardly, hardly, none. So few. And now, there is only a handful.” He added that the thoughts of the world should focus on the victims “who will never tell us what they experienced or they felt, just because they were consumed by that mass destruction.”

Tova Friedman, an 86-year-old survivor, shared that she celebrates January 27 as her birthday, because her life truly began again that day. Just five years old when she was sent to Auschwitz, she said, “We are here to proclaim and pledge that we will never, never, ever allow history to repeat itself.” Ninety-nine-year-old Leon Weintraub reiterated that mission, stating that “all people of goodwill,” especially today’s youth, must be “sensitive to all expressions of intolerance and resentment to people who are different.” He added, “We the survivors, we understand the consequences.”

King Charles III of the United Kingdom was at the forefront of the contingent of royals present for the service. His attendance marked the first visit to Auschwitz by a British monarch. Ahead of the service, the King visited a Jewish community center in Krakow. There, he offered thoughts on the importance of the day’s observations: “As the number of Holocaust survivors regrettably diminishes with the passage of time, the responsibility of remembrance rests on our shoulders. The act of remembering the evils of the past remains a vital task.”

Palace sources told the BBC that the visit was a “deeply personal pilgrimage” for Charles. His paternal grandmother, Princess Andrew of Greece and Denmark, was posthumously honored as Righteous Among the Nations and a British Hero of the Holocaust. During World War II, she secretly sheltered a Jewish widow, Rachel Cohen, and two of her children, in her home in Athens.

King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of the Belgians represented their nation at the ceremony. Mathilde wore her diamond and pearl button earrings for the occasion. Behind them, you’ll see Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, who wore a small diamond floral brooch for the service. She represented her parents, King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia, who attended a memorial service at the same time in Stockholm.

King Frederik X and Queen Mary of Denmark were the Danish representatives at the service. She wore the top section of the family’s Ivy Brooch, a legacy from Hereditary Princess Caroline that now belongs to the Danish Royal Property Trust.

Frederik and Mary were seated near the Presidents of Germany and Ukraine, both of whom shared meaningful reflections during the day of remembrance. President Zelensky, whose great-grandfather was killed in the Holocaust, noted that memories are beginning to gradually fade, but added, “We must not allow forgetfulness to take root. And it is everyone’s mission to do everything possible to ensure that evil does not prevail.”

Ahead of the service, President Steinmeier said that the Holocaust “is part of our history and therefore also part of our identity, which we must come to terms with.” He added, poignantly, “Responsibility knows no end.”

King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain were also in attendance at the service on Monday. They were seated near French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte. Before the ceremony, President Macron shared a prayer for the future: “Let us never forget the millions of victims of the Holocaust. Let us fight tirelessly against antisemitism and hatred, in the name of all those who perished. Let us be the memory of their memory.”

For the ceremony, like so many other women present, Queen Letizia wore a pair of pearl drop earrings. Pearls have become a constant companion for women on occasions of mourning and remembrance, in part because their gleaming drops are often compared to tears.

King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands emphasized the need to share the truth of the Holocaust with the next generation by bringing along their eldest daughter and heir, Princess Amalia. After the fifty survivors in attendance placed candles beside a memorial—an empty railway car that was once used to transport victims to the camps—the royals and dignitaries followed suit, and Amalia watched as her parents paid tribute to the millions of men, women, and children whose lives were taken from them.

Like Queen Mathilde and Queen Letizia, Queen Máxima wore pearls for the service: pearl and diamond button earrings and a large diamond and pearl cluster brooch. Diamonds and pearls both fall into the category of “white” or colorless gems, suitable to be worn in moments of mourning.

Princess Amalia was seated beside Andreas Norlén, the speaker of Sweden’s Riksdag, during the service. She wore gold earrings and a hat with a veil that covered her face during the emotional commemorations.

Three more European heirs also attended the service. Crown Prince Haakon of Norway represented his parents, King Harald V and Queen Sonja, while Luxembourg was represented by Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie. Guillaume’s grandfather, Grand Duke Jean, served with the Irish Guards during World War II, and he took part in the D-Day landings and the liberation of both Brussels and Luxembourg during the conflict.