The “biggest regret” of Queen Elizabeth’s reign
<p>While the third season of <em>The Crown</em> only dropped recently, there is one particular event that has appeared to have haunted Queen Elizabeth all the years later, that has dominated conversation among viewers. </p>
<p>The Netflix royal drama has touched on the Aberfan disaster of 1966, which tragically saw the death of 116 children and 28 adults in a South Wales mining village. </p>
<p>After weeks of intense, heavy rain, a mountain of mining waste (a colliery spoil tip) liquified and collapsed on the morning of October 21. </p>
<p>The horrifying black sludge slid downhill into the village, where it engulfed the junior school and a number of houses. </p>
<p>The impact was devastating and resulted in people being buried beneath the rubble. </p>
<p>Only 28 students at Pantglas Junior school that morning survived the landslide. </p>
<p>The Crown not only touched on the impact of the 1966 tragedy on the United Kingdom, but also the Queen’s actions in the aftermath. </p>
<p>When the royal was informed of the Aberfan disaster, she issued a message of support and sympathy to the victims instantly.</p>
<p>However, there was one decision that she made which came under a lot of scrutiny by the media, and it was sending Prince Philip to visit the town in her place. </p>
<p>In fact, she did not visit the Welsh village until eight days after tragedy struck, a delay which is believed to be Her Majesty’s greatest regret of her reign. </p>
<p>The show suggested the Queen, portrayed by Olivia Coleman, was hesitant to visit straight away as she believed her presence would have been an unwelcome distraction during the recovery process. </p>
<p>No matter the reason, the royal’s decision to delay her visit was criticised heavily by the press. </p>
<p>When she did visit Aberfan, the Queen surveyed the horrific damage and met with the victim’s grieving families. </p>
<p>"Aberfan affected the Queen very deeply, I think, when she went there," former royal press officer staffer Sir William Heseltine said in the documentary <em>Elizabeth: Our Queen</em>.</p>
<p>“It was one of the few occasions in which she shed tears in public. I think she felt in hindsight that she might have gone there a little earlier.</p>
<p>"It was a sort of lesson for us that you need to show sympathy and to be there on the spot, which I think people craved from her." </p>
<p>The Queen has returned to the Welsh village in the years since three times. </p>
<p>On the 50th anniversary of the tragedy in 2016, she honoured the victims and shared recollections of that first "heartbreaking" visit to the village.</p>
<p>"We will all be thinking about the 144 people who died – most of them children between the ages of seven and ten – and the hundreds more who have lived with the shock and grief of that day," her emotional statement read. </p>
<p>"I well remember my own visit with Prince Philip after the disaster, and the posy I was given by a young girl, which bore the heart-breaking inscription, 'From the remaining children of Aberfan.' </p>
<p>"Since then, we have returned on several occasions and have always been deeply impressed by the remarkable fortitude, dignity and indomitable spirit that characterises the people of this village and the surrounding valleys."</p>
<p>Scroll through the gallery to see the Queen at Aberfan.</p>
