Royals will travel to France to mark 110 years since the Battle of the Somme

The Princess Royal will attend in her capacity as President of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

This visit follows a decade after King Charles, then serving as Prince of Wales, joined fellow members of the Royal Family at the battle’s centenary commemorations in France in 2016.

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The Thiepval Memorial stands as the largest site maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission in terms of those remembered there, with more than 72,000 names inscribed.

It serves as a place of remembrance for British and South African troops who lost their lives between 1915 and March 1918 and whose final resting places remain unknown.

The royals will additionally participate in a ceremony at Ulster Tower, which honours the men of the 36th (Ulster) Division who perished during the Somme offensive, as well as Ulstermen who fought with other military formations.

Following the joint service, the two royals will separate for individual engagements.

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The Princess Royal will make her way to the Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial, erected on the very ground where the Newfoundland Regiment fought on 1st July 1916.

The site commemorates 821 Newfoundland servicemen from the Great War whose graves were never identified.

Meanwhile, the Duke of Gloucester will take part in ceremonies at Guillemont Road Cemetery.

Military units established this burial ground in early September 1916 following the Battle of Guillemont, itself part of the broader Somme campaign.

After the 1918 Armistice, the cemetery expanded significantly when thousands of fallen soldiers were reburied there.

The engagements will take place on July 1.