It was a poignant moment as Prince William stepped forward to lay a wreath at the Cenotaph memorial for the first time ever at the Remembrance Day service in London.
Joining other senior royals at the annual ceremony, the future king had a deeply personal insight to the sacrifice of the war dead: in the last twelve months he's lost two close colleagues.
The Prince was "saddened" at the death in Afghanistan of his Sandhurst tutor, Major Alexis Roberts last month, which followed the loss of another soldier friend, Joanna Dyer in Iraq.
As he followed the Queen and Prince Charles in saluting Britain's fallen, the thoughts of the Prince, a Second Lieutenant in the Household Cavalry, no doubts turned to them.
William was not the only royal making his Cenotaph debut. His uncle, Prince Edward also laid a floral tribute at the spot in his capacity as an honorary colonel with a Territorial Army Unit.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
