Kate Middleton opens two new galleries at the Imperial War Museum in London

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The Duchess of Cambridge was tonight reunited with two Holocaust survivors she photographed last year and told them: ‘It is your stories that will ensure that what happened is never forgotten.’

Kate Middleton, 39, was at the Imperial War Museum in London to officially open their two new galleries devoted to the Second World War and the Holocaust.

Waiting for her were Stephen Frank and Yvonne Bernstein, who both famously posed with their grandchildren for the keen royal amateur photographer as part of the Generations: Portrait of Holocaust Survivors, to mark 75 years since the end of the genocide.

The duchess appeared thrilled to see Mr Frank, saying: ‘Hello! I want to give you a big cuddle!’

She was slightly hesitant as to whether to do so but Mr Frank swept her into his arms anyway, as she greeted him and his grand-daughters, Maggie and Trixie. 

‘Nice to see you!’ she said.

She appeared touched when he gave her a letter written by an American serviceman to his mother after she sent him a card. ‘I thought you might like to read it,’ he said.

‘Oh, that’s so thoughtful of you, thank you. That’s very special,’ she said.

She thanked Mr Frank and his two granddaughters for ‘trusting me’. ‘And you were very patient, so thank you,’ she added.

‘I loved the items you chose and the colours. Thank you for your time. You were good sitters. Seeing this really brings back such special memories. We need to tell your stories. That is what is so powerful about this project, the generational nature of it and the handover of stories. ‘

She also hugged Mrs Bernstein, who was with her granddaughter, Chloe Wright, saying: ‘Hello Yvonne, it’s so lovely to see you.’

‘Ooh, you have cold hands,’ exclaimed Mrs Bernstein.

‘I always have cold hands,’ the duchess laughed. ‘Is it strange seeing your photograph up there? It so nice to see you again. I think about the sitting so often, it was such a wonderful opportunity. Thank you so much. ‘ 

The pair chatted about families and Mrs Bernstein asked the duchess whether, as a working mother, she got much chance to see her children.

‘All the time, ‘ replied Kate, ‘they’re my priority. ‘

Admiring another portrait of John Hajdu MBE, not taken by herself, the duchess was much taken with a tiny threadbare teddy tucked into his top pocket.

She told Mr Hajdu , who was born in Hungary in 1937 but now lives in Muswell Hill, North London, with his wife Maureen, and has two children and four grandchildren: ‘Hello, very nice to meet you. Is this your portrait? And is this your teddy? I love your teddy.

Mr Hajdu said: ‘This little chap came through the war with me.’

‘He’s in amazing condition,’ said Kate, ‘does he have a name?’’ 

‘’Just teddy.’

The 82-year-old explained that his childhood toy had escaped with him first the onslaught of the Nazis – when he was put with his mother in the horrific Budapest ghetto – and then Soviet occupation, before coming with him to England in 1956 after fleeing the Hungarian revolution through minefields.

‘And teddy was with you all the time,’ Kate marvelled. ‘Wow, goodness me, what a story.

‘I hope parents explain these stories to their children to ensure it never happens again.

‘What I love is the personal stories, told in context, like your teddy.’

He said afterwards: ‘I am living history and very happy to be here. She was a lovely lady and very interested, I think, to hear my story for the first time. I had only had a chance to grab two things when we left – and one was teddy.

‘I think it really opened her eyes.’

As she toured the Holocaust exhibition, the duchess was clearly moved by what she saw.

‘It’s the stories that mean most to me,’ she said.

Looking at photographs which told the life of pre-war Jewish communities living under Nazi rule, she wondered: ‘At the time would they have known [what was to follow] ?’

The Imperial War Museum’s new galleries in London display more than 1,500 items from 80 countries that bring to life the impact of the Second World War on millions of people.

The Holocaust Galleries, meanwhile tell the individual stories of some of the six million murdered Jewish people through more than 2,000 photographs, books, artworks, letters and personal belongings.

Touring the Second World War Galleries, Kate looked at displays on the Battle of Britain – her grandfather, Captain Peter Middleton was an RAF pilot during the war – and had a go at an Enigma codebreaker machine. Her grandmother, Valerie Glassborow, and her twin sister Mary both worked with at Bletchley Park during the war.

She marvelled, again, at the way the museum had told the story of the war throughout personal accounts, saying; ‘It just brings it to life. A lot of people still don’t want to share their stories. It’s amazing. can’t wait to bring my kids.’

Kate wrapped up against the cold in her elegant navy jacket from Catherine Walker, which she paired with a cream designer shirt first worn months after her 2011 wedding to Prince William. 

Meanwhile the royal also opted to wear Princess Diana‘s dazzling diamond and sapphire drop earrings for the outing. 

The Catherine Walker coat is a favourite of the Duchess, who first stepped out in the garment earlier this year for Mental Health Awareness Week with a visit to Wolverhampton.  

The thrifty mother-of-three first wore the Alexander McQueen top for a visit alongside the Duke on 19th of August 2011, when the royal couple visited Birmingham. 

She has since re-wore the piece a number of times in the following years, including a visit to Bletchley Park in Milton Keynes in 2014. 

Today she paired the distinctive blouse with a pair of smart suit trousers and a lengthy blue long-line coat. 

The Duchess wore her locks down in her usual bouncy blow dry style, and kept her makeup minimal for the occasion.

Meanwhile she also added a touch of glamour to the outfit with her pair of dangling  blue earrings, and placed a poppy on the collar of her coat. 

The earrings, which can be adapted and worn as studs or as drops, are a favourite pair of Kate’s and have been worn by the Duchess on a number of high profile occasions. 

The Duchess firstly visited the new Second World War Galleries, which display over 1,500 collection items from 80 countries that bring to life the impact of the Second World War on millions of people. 

She then visited The Holocaust Galleries, which tell the individual stories of some of the six million Jewish people murdered in the Holocaust through over 2,000 photos, books, artworks, letters and personal belongings. 

During her visit, Kate also unveiled a plaque to officially open the two new Galleries. 

The Duchess was then accompanied to Generations: Portraits of the Holocaust, which features over 50 photographic portraits of Holocaust survivors and their families. 

Kate toured the exhibition and met with individuals involved in the project, before reuniting with Stephen Frank BEM and Yvonne Bernstein, who she photographed alongside their granddaughters for the exhibition in January 2020. 

Mr Frank was among only a handful of children to make it out alive from the last of the many concentration camps he was sent to. By then his father had been gassed to death for speaking out against the Nazis.

Mrs Bernstein was hidden as a child in France throughout most of the Second World War and her uncle was seized and murdered for shielding her.

Both Mr Frank and Mrs Bernstein were photographed at Kensington Palace alongside their granddaughters.

The photos, released last year, are now on display at the Imperial War Museum in an exhibition bringing together more than 50 contemporary portraits of Holocaust survivors and their families.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge Instagram account shared the news, writing: ‘Displayed for the very first time, these powerful photographs capture the special connections between Holocaust survivors and the younger generations of their families, and remind us of our collective responsibility to ensure their stories live on

‘The photographs present a group of survivors who made the UK their home after beginnings marked by unimaginable loss and trauma.

‘While offering a space to remember and share their stories, these portraits are a celebration of the full lives they have lived and the special legacy which their children and grandchildren will carry into the future.

‘The exhibition is in partnership with the @RoyalPhotographicSociety and @holocaustmemorialdaytrust, two organisations who invited The Duchess to be part of this special project, marking 75 years since the end of the Holocaust last year.’ 

In one of the pictures Mr Frank is seen holding a pan, this had been one of his mother’s items that he had kept from during his time at Westerbork transit camp. He was later sent to Theresienstadt with his brothers and mother.

Whilst at the camp his mother would do laundry for prisoners in exchange for a small amount of bread. She would put crumbs into the pan, adding hot water to make a paste. She would give each child a spoonful to keep them alive, denying herself of the food.

It was this act of kindness from his mother and her use of the pan that ultimately saved his life. He survived multiple concentration camps and Mr Frank and his and his brothers are three of only 93 children who survived the camp, out of 15,000 children sent there.

Kate, who is patron of the Royal Photographic Society and had produced a thesis on photography during her art history degree, said at the time ‘despite unbelievable trauma at the start of their lives’ they were ‘two of the most life-affirming people that I have had the privilege to meet’.

She added: ‘They look back on their experiences with sadness but also with gratitude that they were some of the lucky few to make it through.

‘Their stories will stay with me forever.’

She added that whilst she had been lucky enough to meet the survivors, she recognised that not everyone in the future would be able to hear such stories first hand.

Kate has always had a passion for photography and she produced her undergraduate thesis on the era of photography – in particular, photographs of children.

She graduated in 2005 from the University of St Andrews in Fife, Scotland, with an undergraduate (2:1 Hons) in the history of art.

Recently she turned her skills to the creation of Hold Still, a book that pulled together photographs of lockdown across the UK.