The official opening of the Glade of Light Memorial, Manchester, UK by Prince William and Catherine Duchess of Cambridge took place on May 10, 2022. Anthony Harvey/Shutterstock
Sending a message in solidarity Duchess KateYou chose a meaningful accessory as her gift. Prince William’s visit to Manchester to honor the victims of the Manchester Arena terrorist attack.
Kate, 40, wore earrings made of gold and shaped like honeycombs, with a bee charm, to the Glade of Light memorial’s official opening on Tuesday, May 10. According to the Manchester City Council the worker bee represents the city’s hardworking citizens and the city’s bustling activity.
After the terrorist attack on an in 2017, Ariana Grande22 people were killed and hundreds more injured in a concert. The bee was adopted as a symbol for hate and solidarity. It first appeared in street art and on social media, as well as as a tattoo.
Prince William spoke movingly at the Glade of Light memorial open-house. “I remember only too well the shock and grief on the faces of those I met when I visited Manchester in the days following the atrocity,” William, 39, said. “And the rawness of emotion at the Commemoration service, held at your cathedral just here, a year later. Five years on I know that the pain and the trauma felt by many has not gone away.”
The Glade of Light Memorial was officially opened by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on May 10, 2022. The memorial remembers the victims and perpetrators of the terrorist attack on Manchester Arena on 22 May 2017. Anthony Harvey/Shutterstock
The Duke of Cambridge, whose mother, Princess Diana, passed away in 1997, added, “As someone who lives with his own grief, I also know that what often matters most to the bereaved is that those we have lost are not forgotten. There is comfort in remembering. It is comforting to remember that they lived, even though they were taken too soon. They made a huge difference in our lives. They were loved and still loved. It is why memorials such as the Glade of Light are so important, why Catherine and I so wanted to be amongst you today.”
Although William and Kate’s visit celebrated the memorial’s official opening on Tuesday, the Glade of Light has been open to the public since January. Photos posted on the duke and duchess’s official Instagram account showed Kate placing flowers to honor the victims and William speaking to the crowd.
The Manchester visit was not the first time that the duchess wore jewelry with significant meaning. The same set of diamond and sapphire jewelry was worn by the Reading native to the Commonwealth Day service in march. It was also the same set she wore to meet Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zeleskyy and his wife Olena in 2020. This accessory was a subtle way to show her support for the Ukrainian people in the midst of the ongoing Russian invasion.
