Princess of Wales lays wreath at Cenotaph to mark Anzac Day

3 weeks ago 15

The Princess of Wales has laid a wreath at the Cenotaph to mark Anzac Day, which commemorates all Australians and New Zealanders who died in conflict.

A message, signed by Kate, attached to the wreath read: "In memory of the Australian and New Zealand soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom."

As part of UK events on Saturday, she also joined a service of commemoration and thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey.

 PA

Image: The Princess of Wales at a service of commemoration at Westminster Abbey. Pic: PA

Earlier, a dawn service took place in London, attended by the Princess Royal.

Princess Anne laid a wreath at Wellington Arch, Hyde Park Corner, at 5am, at the event which included a reading of the John McCrae poem In Flanders Fields.

Princess Anne lays wreath at Anzac Day service

In Australia, several services were disrupted by booing from small groups during so-called Welcome to Country ceremonies, during which indigenous leaders welcome visitors to their traditional lands.

The outbursts in Melbourne, Perth, and Sydney - where one man was arrested - were also met with applause and cheering from large groups of those gathered to pay their respects, according to local media.

 AP

Image: Wreaths are laid at the North Sydney War Memorial in Sydney. Pic: AP

 AP

Image: An Anzac Day parade in Sydney. Pic: AP

The Royal Family's official account on X paid tribute with a picture of troops from the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC).

The image shows soldiers travelling to the First World War conflict zone Gallipoli, with the caption "Lest we forget".

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Anzac Day is held every year on 25 April and was initially established to commemorate ANZAC troops landing on the beaches of Gallipoli in northwest Turkey in 1915. The attack on the Turkish defences began at dawn.

Ceremonies, which are marked across the world, also took place in Gallipoli and Villers-Bretonneux, a French village which Australian units helped defend during WWI.

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 Dia Photo/AP

Image: New Zealand soldiers at the Mehmetcik monument in the Gallipoli peninsula, Turkey. Pic: Dia Photo/AP

Booing at ceremonies

Australia's defence minister Richard Marles criticised the disruption at ceremonies, which in previous years has been perpetrated by anti-indigenous rights protesters.

"To boo in that way goes completely against that. It is deeply disgraceful," he told ABC News Breakfast.

In Sydney, police confirmed a 24-year-old man was arrested for "an alleged act of nuisance", and several others were moved on.

They represented "a small handful of people" compared to about 11,000 at the event, according to a statement from police.

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