Britain’s Prince Charles has unveiled a memorial to British soldiers who fought and died at the Battle of Waterloo.
The prince and his wife Duchess Camilla visited the Belgian battlefield yesterday (17.06.15), before going to Hougoumont Farm, where he pulled down a Union Jack to reveal Vivienne Mallock’s lasting tribute, which depicts two life-size soldiers struggling to close a gate to save the site from being overrun by the French.
Soldiers from the Coldstream Guards shut the gate and the Duke of Wellington later said the outcome of Waterloo "turned on the closing of the gates at Hougoumont".
Yesterday, 10 Guardsmen from No 7 Company Coldstream Guards dressed in 1815 period costume to carry out the official opening of the gates at the farm.
The event – which was held to mark 200 years since the battle – – was also attended by relatives of the three commanders at Waterloo, and the 9th Duke of Wellington, Prince Nikolaus von Blucher of Prussia and Prince Charles Bonaparte also took part in a symbolic three-way handshake of friendship at the event.
During their tour, the royal couple visited La Belle Alliance Farm before walking along a farm track, around the edge of the battlefield, before looking around Hougoumont, which has been the subject of a £3 million restoration plan.
Barry van Danzig, a trustee of the Hougoumont Project which led efforts to restore the farm, said the closure of the gates "ended 800 years of conflict between France and Britain and brought in 100 years of peace."
He added: "The monument to the whole British Army is important – we all hear about Wellington’s victory but it was the guys on the ground that did it."
The commemorations will also see battle re-enactment displays take place over the weekend, while Charles and Camilla will also attend a national service at London’s St Paul’s Cathedral to commemorate the anniversary of the battle today (18.06.15).
Prince Charles unveils Waterloo memorial
