Princess Catherine pays tribute to Anzac war dead

On Anzac Day, Princess Catherine participated in a remembrance ceremony at Westminster Abbey, honoring the sacrifices of soldiers from Australia and New Zealand. She also laid a wreath at a memorial site in Whitehall, commemorating the 1915 Battle of Gallipoli where the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (Anzac) engaged in the conflict.

A display of red poppies, incorporating white accents symbolizing the Prince of Wales’ crest, featured a message penned by Catherine and Prince William, expressing gratitude to “those who gave their lives for our freedom.”

Princess Anne joined a dawn event at Wellington Arch in London, organized by the high commissions of New Zealand and Australia. During the service, she placed a wreath in a ceremony that ended with the playing of national anthems for the UK, New Zealand, and Australia.

The Gallipoli campaign, a British initiative to break the Ottoman Empire’s hold, sought to establish a vital naval passage through the Dardanelles from the Mediterranean to Constantinople, now Istanbul. Over 100,000 soldiers perished in this unsuccessful operation, which continued into 1916.

Reverend Dr. Lyndon Drake recited Laurence Binyon’s

The Fallen

during the Whitehall service, followed by a Royal Marines Portsmouth Road Band trumpeter playing the Last Post, leading to a minute of silence.

The high commissioners representing New Zealand and Australia, Hamish Cooper and Jay Weatherill, joined together to present their individual wreaths. Catherine engaged with fellow participants in singing the hymn

O God Our Help in Ages Past

, followed by a procession of military personnel marching from Whitehall to the adjacent Westminster Abbey for the commemoration and thanksgiving ceremony.

Following the ceremony, Catherine spoke with several military families. Commemorative events took place in New Zealand, Australia, and the Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey on Saturday morning. Villers-Bretonneux, a French village in the Somme region, was also recognized for its role in the World War One battles where Australian forces played a key part.

The Royal Family shared a message on X, stating: “Anzac Day honors the service and sacrifice of members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps in every war, conflict, and peacekeeping mission.”