Philip honours war dead in Belgium

The Duke of Edinburgh is honouring fallen troops in Belgium
11 November 2013

The Duke of Edinburgh will travel to Belgium today to honour fallen troops at the scene of some of the First World War's most deadly battles.

Philip will take part in the Last Post ceremony in Ypres on Armistice Day, where he will collect soil from Flanders Fields for a memorial garden at the Guards Museum in London.

It will be the 92-year-old Duke's first foreign visit since undergoing abdominal surgery in June, when he spent almost two weeks in hospital.

He will arrive at the Menin Gate memorial with Prince Laurent of Belgium to be greeted by members of the Last Post Association, which founded the daily ceremony to remember the war dead in 1928.

Philip will be met by the minister-president of Flanders and the Belgian defence minister as the Band of the Coldstream Guards perform a royal salute.

During the ceremony, the Last Post - which is a bugle call played as the traditional final salute to fallen troops - will be sounded before a minute's silence is held.

The Duke and Prince Laurent will each lay a poppy wreath to commemorate members of the armed forces who died fighting in all conflicts since the First World War.

Schoolchildren from the UK and Belgium will carry sandbags with earth from First World War cemeteries in Belgium to a gun carriage of the Royal Horse Artillery.

The royals will be introduced to the youngsters before moving to a reception at Ypres Town Hall, after which they will sign the golden book of the Last Post Association.

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