Story perspectives

Kate Middleton, Princess Anne Lead London Anzac Day Ceremonies

4/26/2026

Summary

Story summary

The royal family held two Anzac Day ceremonies in London on April 25 2026.
Kate Middleton laid a wreath for King Charles at the Cenotaph and later joined the Westminster Abbey Service of Commemoration and Thanksgiving.
The Dawn Service at Wellington Arch, attended by Anne, featured a wreath-laying, a reading of “In Flanders Fields,” and participation by New Zealand and Australian High Commissioners, a Maori waiata and the Last Post by a military band.

History

Historical Context

After the 1915 Gallipoli campaign, which cost 8,709 Australian and 2,721 New Zealand lives, Prime Minister Billy Hughes and Governor-General Sir Ronald Munro Ferguson held the first ANZAC Day service at London’s Cenotaph in 1916 with about 2,000 troops. In 2024 Kate Middleton laid a wreath for King Charles at the same site, linking the royal ceremony to the original commemoration.

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Story summary

The royal family held two Anzac Day ceremonies in London on April 25 2026.
Kate Middleton laid a wreath for King Charles at the Cenotaph and later joined the Westminster Abbey Service of Commemoration and Thanksgiving.
The Dawn Service at Wellington Arch, attended by Anne, featured a wreath-laying, a reading of “In Flanders Fields,” and participation by New Zealand and Australian High Commissioners, a Maori waiata and the Last Post by a military band.

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