Princess Anne Leads Guards Memorial Centenary in London
Princess Anne unveiled the newly restored Guards Memorial in central London on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026, exactly 100 years after its first dedication. She led the centenary service at Horse Guards Parade, the parade ground off Whitehall used for Trooping the Colour, the king's annual birthday parade, and other military ceremonies. The service was organized by the Household Cavalry, the Army units that provide mounted escort for the monarch on state occasions, according to Town & Country.
Anne, 76, is the younger sister of King Charles III. She serves as Senior Colonel of the Foot Guards, the ceremonial head of the five infantry regiments that stand guard at Buckingham Palace and other royal residences. The king appointed her to the post after the death of her father, Prince Philip, who had held it before her.
At Friday's ceremony she laid a wreath alongside the Major General and representatives of the Foot Guards regiments. She gave an address. She then revealed the restored memorial.
The memorial was built to honor Foot Guards soldiers who died in World War I. Their names are cut into its stone panels. The names of Guardsmen who died in World War II were added later, extending the tribute to a second generation of war dead.
The first dedication took place on Oct. 16, 1926. It was presided over by Field Marshal the Duke of Connaught, a son of Queen Victoria, who was then Senior Colonel of the Foot Guards. Friday's service marked a full century to that day.
The Royal Diary, the palace's public schedule of official engagements, had listed the centenary dedication for 69 Horse Guards Road in London SW1, the address beside the parade ground, according to the Royal Diary. Anne also holds the appointment of Colonel of The Blues and Royals, one of the two Household Cavalry regiments, a tie to the troops who organized the service.
What stands out for American readers is the continuity. One office linked the 1926 ceremony and the 2026 ceremony. The same act, a wreath and an unveiling in the same place, was repeated 100 years apart.
