Princess Anne will join the Duke of Gloucester for a visit to France next week to mark the 110-year anniversary of the Battle of the Somme. The Princess Royal, who serves as President of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, and the Duke, Honorary President of the Somme Association, will attend events on Wednesday, July 1, honoring those who fought and died in one of the deadliest battles of the First World War.
Rare Joint Royal Engagement
Anne and the Duke, also known as Prince Richard, are not often seen carrying out engagements together. While the Duke regularly performs official royal duties, he prefers to maintain a low public profile. Prince Richard was the late Queen Elizabeth II's cousin, with both he and Anne sharing King George V as their grandfather. At his birth on August 26, 1944, in Northampton, he was fifth in line to the throne, the youngest son of Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, and Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester.
The Duke has carried out royal visits to countries such as Malawi and the Solomon Islands. He recently made a rare appearance with the rest of the Royal Family on the balcony of Buckingham Palace during the Trooping the Colour celebrations.
Ceremonies at Thiepval Memorial and Ulster Tower
During their joint visit, the senior royals will unveil UNESCO plaques at the Thiepval Memorial in north-east France as part of the anniversary events. The memorial commemorates British and South African troops who lost their lives between 1915 and March 1918 and whose final resting places remain unknown. They will also participate in a ceremony at Ulster Tower, which honors the men of the 36th (Ulster) Division who died during the Somme offensive, as well as Ulstermen who fought with other military formations.
Individual Engagements After Joint Service
Following the joint service, the two royals will separate for individual engagements. Anne will head to the Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial, erected on the site where the Newfoundland Regiment fought on July 1, 1916. The Duke of Gloucester will take part in ceremonies at Guillemont Road Cemetery. This visit follows a decade after King Charles, then Prince of Wales, joined fellow Royal Family members at the battle's centenary commemorations in France in 2016.
