Belgian frigate brings Flanders soil to London for memorial - thanks to a Royal intervention

A Belgian Navy frigate passed through Tower Bridge today as it delivered soil from the Flanders battlefield for a new First World War memorial garden in London.

Louise Marie carried 70 sandbags filled with soil to the capital after the Duke of Edinburgh secured special dispensation from the Belgian Royal Family to allow it to be removed from Flanders, the scene of some of the Great War's bloodiest battles.

Prince Phillip, 92, travelled to Belgium on Remembrance Day for a summit with Prince Laurent to pave the way for the special delivery this weekend.

The prized goods will be kept under lock and key aboard HMS Belfast ahead of a military procession through central London tomorrow, which will include a salute on the forecourt of Buckingham Palace.

Finally, almost 100 years since the start of the First World War, the soil will be delivered to its new home of the Flanders Field 1914-2014 Memorial Garden at Wellington Barracks, by St James's Park.

British Defence Minister Lord John Jacob Astor will be joined by Belgian officials and eight-year-old Patrick Casey, who will place a casket of sacred soil into the heart of the garden, which is due to open next year. A band from the Scots Guards will be playing as the ceremony concludes at around noon on Saturday.

The Duke of Edinburgh has taken a personal interest in the memorial, which is an initiative of The Guards Museum, Flanders House in London, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and the Belgian-Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce in Great Britain.

It is due to open on November 9 2014 - but its backers still need to raise more money before the memorial can be completed.