LONDON (AP) – Queen Elizabeth II attended a service at Westminster Abbey on Thursday, the eve of the centenary of the Battle of the Somme, one of the deadliest chapters of World War I.
The 90-year-old British monarch laid a wreath of roses on the grave of the Unknown Warrior inside the ancient abbey in London before a bugler sounded the Last Post, a tribute to the fallen. An honor guard of soldiers and civilians will hold an overnight vigil at the grave, ending just before 7:30 a.m., the time British troops were sent into battle on July 1, 1916.
The British and French offensive against German forces ground on for 141 days in 1916, leaving more than a million dead or wounded.
Prince William, his wife Kate and Prince Harry attended a vigil Thursday evening at the Thiepval Memorial in northern France, where 70,000 British and Commonwealth soldiers are commemorated.
On Friday, the young royals will join Prime Minister David Cameron, French President Francois Hollande and other dignitaries from the combatant nations at a service in France.