The Princess Royal and the Duke of Gloucester will undertake a rare joint engagement next month as they travel to France to mark the 110th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme.
Princess Anne, in her role as President of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, and the Duke of Gloucester, Honorary President of the Somme Association, will attend commemorative events on 1 July honouring those who fought and died in one of the bloodiest battles of the First World War.
The engagement will bring together two of the Royal Family’s most dedicated working members, who are seldom seen carrying out official duties together.
Their visit will coincide with the anniversary of the opening day of the Battle of the Somme in 1916. More than one million men from across the British Empire and other nations were killed or wounded during the five-month campaign, while around 57,000 British casualties were suffered on the first day alone.
As President of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Princess Anne has long championed the work of preserving the memory of those who made the ultimate sacrifice. The Duke of Gloucester, meanwhile, serves as Honorary President of the Somme Association, which seeks to maintain the memory and legacy of those who fought in the campaign.
The commemorations in northern France will pay tribute to the servicemen from Britain and across the Commonwealth who lost their lives during the First World War and mark 110 years since troops first went over the top on 1 July 1916.
