The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge took their turn in leading the Royal Family in remembrance on Anzac Day, a day to honour Australians and New Zealanders killed in war. It’s held on the anniversary of the Gallipoli landings during World War One.
The two attended a Service of Commemoration and Thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey in London. During the service, the Dean of Westminster, David Hoyle, touched on the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and how it echoes of Gallipoli: “For us, we are now navigating another, nearer landscape of chaos. New names in a long litany of horror – Mariupol, Bucha and Kharkiv.
“In the foxholes of Anzac Cove, the bunkers of shattered cities in Ukraine, in the depths of distancing and isolation in the pandemic, we learn again and again what it is to be thrown back on just our human recourses.”
Both the Duke and Duchess sported red poppy pins, an artificial flower used since 1921 to commemorate military members who died in war. It was also noted by many that the Duchess wore the same cream coat dress she wore at Princess Charlotte’s christening in 2015.
The Duchess was not present as the Duke attended a service at The Cenotaph war memorial in London, laying a wreath of poppies on behalf of Her Majesty The Queen. A spokesperson for Kensington Palace said the Duchess did not attend the service due to a change in her diary.
The message placed on the wreath laid by the Duke read: “In memory of those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom.”
The Queen’s cousin, the Duke of Gloucester, also honoured lives lost as he attended the Dawn Service at the New Zealand Memorial in London’s Hyde Park.
Last year, it was The Princess Royal who attended the Anzac Day event after it was cancelled in 2020 because of the global health crisis. Many will also remember 2019 when the Duchess of Cambridge attended alongside her brother-in-law, Prince Harry. His wife, the Duchess of Sussex, was absent as she was nearing the end of her first pregnancy with their son, Archie, who was born a couple of weeks later.
Anzac Day commemorates the first major battle involving Australian and New Zealand forces during World War I. The battle has been honoured in London since the first anniversary of the Anzac landings at Gallipoli in 1916. At the time, King George V attended a service at Westminster Abbey.
