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Princess Catherine pays tribute to war dead of Australia and New Zealand
TL;DR
Princess Catherine commemorated the war dead of Australia and New Zealand at Westminster Abbey, placing a wreath at a memorial in Whitehall. The tribute honored soldiers from the Anzac forces who fought in the Battle of Gallipoli in 1915.
Key points
- Princess Catherine attended a service at Westminster Abbey
- She placed a wreath at a memorial in Whitehall
- The tribute honored Anzac soldiers from the Battle of Gallipoli
- Princess Anne also participated in a dawn service at Wellington Arch
- The Gallipoli campaign aimed to secure a naval route through the Dardanelles
Mentioned in this story
Princess CatherinePrince WilliamPrincess AnneWestminster AbbeyWhitehallWellington ArchIstanbul
AnzacGallipoli
Princess Catherine has attended a service at Westminster Abbey to commemorate the war dead of Australia and New Zealand.
Earlier she placed a wreath at a memorial in Whitehall marking when Australian and New Zealand Army Corps – shortened to Anzac - fought in the Battle of Gallipoli in 1915.
The ring of poppies with white flowers depicting the feathers of the Prince of Wales' crest had a note signed by Catherine and Prince William that paid tribute to "soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom".
Princess Anne attended a dawn service where she laid a wreath against Wellington Arch during a memorial service that included a reading of the John McCrae poem In Flanders Fields.
The Gallipoli campaign, part of a British-led effort to defeat the Ottoman Empire, aimed to secure a naval route through the Dardanelles from the Mediterranean Sea to Constantinople, now Istanbul, in Turkey. More than 100,000 troops died in the failed campaign that lasted into 1916.
At the Whitehall service, Reverend Dr Lyndon Drake recited from The Fallen by poet Laurence Binyon before a Royal Marines Portsmouth Road Band trumpeter played the last post after which there was a one-minute silence.
The high commissioners for New Zealand and Australia, Hamish Cooper and Jay Weatherill, walked in tandem to lay their own wreaths.
Princess Catherine joined other attendees in singing the hymn O God Our Help in Ages Past before men and women in military uniforms marched off Whitehall to the commemoration and thanksgiving service at nearby Westminster Abbey.
After that service, Catherine spoke with some of the military families.
Earlier Princess Anne attended a dawn service at Wellington Arch in London which was organised by the New Zealand and Australian high commissions.
She laid a wreath during a service that concluded with the national anthems of the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia.
Commemoration services were also held across New Zealand, Australia and on the Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey on Saturday morning.
The day was also marked in Villers-Bretonneux, a village in the Somme region of France, which Australian units helped defend during World War One.
The Royal Family posted on X about Anzac Day, "which honours the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps who served and died in all wars, conflicts and peacekeeping operations."
Q&A
What was the significance of Princess Catherine's tribute at Westminster Abbey?
Princess Catherine's tribute honored the soldiers of Australia and New Zealand who fought and died in the Battle of Gallipoli during World War I.
What is the Anzac and its historical importance?
The Anzac refers to the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, which fought in the Gallipoli campaign in 1915, marking a significant event in both nations' military histories.
How many troops died in the Gallipoli campaign?
More than 100,000 troops died in the Gallipoli campaign, which was part of a British-led effort during World War I.
