British & Belgian Royals Attend Opening of WWI Memorial

The monarchs of Britain and Belgium united today to open a World War One memorial in London. Queen Elizabeth II and King Philippe were present for the dedication of the Flanders Fields Memorial Garden at the Wellington Barracks.

The pair were joined by the Duke of Edinburgh and the Duke of Cambridge for the event, which included a prayer service and music played by the Grenadier Guards’ Band and the Household Cavalry’s States Trumpeters. Queen Elizabeth and King Philippe also both laid wreaths of poppies in the garden, before heading into the Guards Chapel for a short reception.

Flanders Field Memorial Garden was the design of Belgian landscape architect Piet Blanckaert and takes inspiration from the World War One memorials in Belgium. The garden is made of 70 sandbags of soil from battlefield cemeteries in Flanders, which were brought back last year, and trees which are native to the Flanders region. Queen Elizabeth and King Philippe both received silver boxes containing portions of the soil during the event.

The Gardens’ aim is to “honour all those who fought and died for their countries and our freedom in the Great War.”

Filed under Belgium, The United Kingdom
Tagged Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, King Philippe of the Belgians, Memorial, Military, The Duke of Cambridge, The Duke of Edinburgh, World War I.