On a poignant and action-packed trip to brecon and the valleys the prince and princess of wales combine adventure with more solemn duties

T hey are known for being a competitive pair, especially when it comes to sport, but the Prince and Princess of Wales put any rivalries aside to abseil down a cliff in the newly renamed Bannau Brycheiniog National Park in South Wales.

“We’re not racing,” said the Princess, after they strapped on helmets in the wind and rain on the first engagement of their two-day visit to the country.

Teasing, her husband replied: “Come on, then. Are we going to abseil or stand around talking?”

Asked by instructors if he’d abseiled before, as he speedily made his way down the cliff, Prince William replied:

“It’s been a while.”

The couple were visiting the park, which changed its name from the Brecon Beacons last month, to mark the 60th anniversary of the Central Beacons Mountain Rescue Team – the Prince is patron of Mountain Rescue England and Wales.

They took part in a mock rescue, with Kate joining a team exercise to help a dummy casualty who had supposedly slipped on the rocks. She radioed for help and medical supplies to her husband, who was inside the incident control van.

“Have you got everything on the list?” she asked, before laughing and adding: “It’s like calling him about the weekly shopping.”

SOMBRE MEMORIES

After carrying the “patient” back to the team’s van, the Prince and Princess were introduced to former mountain rescuers Bob Thomas and Nick Richards, who had helped with rescue efforts during the Aberfan tragedy in October 1966.

“It’s a real pleasure to meet you both. My grandmother told me many times about Aberfan,” the Prince told them.

Regarded as one of the UK’s worst industrial disasters, the tragedy saw 116 children and 28 adults killed when a colliery spoil tip collapsed and sent tonnes of ash slurry onto the village below, engulfing Pantglas Junior School and a row of houses.

The Duke of Edinburgh, Princess Margaret’s husband Lord Snowdon and the then Prime Minister Harold Wilson went to the scene immediately, while the Queen visited eight days later.

She is said to have regretted not going to the village earlier, but Bob told the Prince: “Your family did the right thing in not coming immediately because it would have been a distraction.”

After their work on the mou