Sending a message of solidarity. Duchess Kate chose a meaningful accessory for her and Prince William’s visit to Manchester to honor the victims of the Manchester Arena terrorist attack.
Kate, 40, wore gold earrings shaped like honeycombs with a bee charm to the official opening of the Glade of Light memorial on Tuesday, May 10. According to the Manchester City Council, the worker bee symbolizes the hardworking citizens of Manchester and the buzzing activity of the city.
After the 2017 terrorist attack at an Ariana Grande concert left 22 dead and hundreds injured, the bee took on an even greater meaning as a symbol of solidarity against hate. It began popping up in street art, on social media and even as a tattoo.
At the Glade of Light memorial opening, Prince William gave a moving speech. “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 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. In acknowledging that, while taken horribly soon, they lived. They changed our lives. They were loved and they are 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 is not the first time the duchess has worn jewelry that holds significance. While attending the Commonwealth Day service in March, the Reading native wore the same diamond and sapphire jewelry set she wore to meet Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his wife, Olena, in 2020. The accessory choice sent a subtle message of her support for the people of Ukraine amid the ongoing Russian invasion.
