Their deaths occurred nearly 110 years ago, but the Princess Royal was in attendance as two First World War soldiers were laid to rest in Northern France.
Princess Anne travelled to France on Thursday to attend the burial of two unknown soldiers, both of whom were killed in the Battle of Loos, on the Western Front, in 1915.
The royal serves as President of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, and attended the burial services to mark the opening of the new extension to the Loos Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery.
The Battle of Loos was fought between 25 September and 8 October 1915, and was, for a time, the largest British offensive of the First World War. The casualties from the battle were overwhelmingly British, but the troops learned that they could break into German holds and that it would take actual bombardment to win.
The Battle of Loos was the first time the British soldiers used gas attacks, leading to suffering on their own side when the cannisters were deployed. There were more than 59,000 Commonwealth casualties during the Battle.
According to the Royal Family on social media, Princess Anne was joined at the burial ceremony by soldiers from the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The casualties of the Battle were mainly Scottish soldiers.
Princess Anne witnessed the burial of two Scottish soldiers on Thursday, both buried with full military honours. One was a member of The Black Watch (Royal Highlanders) and the other, though not positively identified, also belonged to a Scottish regiment.
The Loos Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery is only the second time that a military cemetery has been commissioned since the end of the Second World War. The cemetery was built after construction workers nearby found the remains of soldiers and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission began the work of trying to identify the soldiers.
Over the summer, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission identified the remains of 48 separate soldiers, but positive identifications could not be made. The remains were buried in a service this past summer.
The Commission exhausts all avenues to positively identify the remains and family members are invited to re-interments. There are more than 23,000 cemetery locations in 150 countries around the world cared for by the Commission.
After the burial service, where Princess Anne laid a wreath and planted a tree to commemorate the event, she met with members of the local community at Loos-en-Gohelle’s City Hall.
