The Thiepval Franco-British National Memorial is a very impressive place, with its massive triumphal gate-like monument, with a kind of altar under the arch, and bearing the names of thousands of disappeared soldiers written on its walls. Renovation works have been carried out, including the addition of lights to lighten the monument and make it look less somber.
Quite impressive too is the large presence of several members of the Royal Family (and not only the minor ones: the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince Harry, Vice-Admiral Tim Laurence, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester), along with many high-ranking British and foreign authorities (the British Prime minister, the archbishop of Canterbury, the President of Ireland Michael O'Higgins, the former German federal President Horst Köhler...). The dignity of the ceremony at Thiepval was also noticed, in contrast with the recent and much-disputed Franco-German ceremony at Verdun Memorial, when thousands of youths ran across the graves holding multicolour ribbons on the sound of tribal drums... (and fortunately, the initially-planned rap concert had been cancelled under the public outrage!)
The ceremony on 1st July:
(Credit: Philippe Wojazer / Reuters)
(Credit: Gareth Fuller/Royal Rota via Royalfoto)
Another moving moment was the visit of the Prince of Wales and of the Duchess of Cornwall to the Franco-British military cemetary in Carnoy, where the couple paid their respects to the grave of Camilla's grand-uncle, Captain Harry Cubbit, one of the many soldiers of the British Empire who lost their life during the terrible battle of the Somme:
Jewellerywise, the Duchess of Cornwall opted for military badges:
- for the ceremonies in Thiepval and Carnoy, the badge of the 9th-12th Lancers Regiment, in which her father Major Bruce Shand served:
(Credit: REUTERS/Stephane de Sakutin/Pool)
- for the Canadian ceremony at the Newfoundland Memorial in Beaumont-Hamel, she wore the badge of The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada, of which she is also Colonel-in-Chief:
on July 3, 2016, 5:46 am, in reply to "
