Princess Anne visits B.C. veteran cemetery for wreath-laying event
Global News
Princess Anne visited the God's Acre veterans cemetery in Esquimalt, B.C., as part of a three-day tour that includes a commemorative service at the B.C. legislature.
Princess Anne spent more than an hour Saturday touring God’s Acre veteran’s cemetery and its tiny, wooden chapel, laying a wreath to honour the more than 2,500 military personnel and family members buried there.
The visit to the secluded, tree-covered Esquimalt, B.C., cemetery is part of the princess’s three-day West Coast visit, which started Friday in North Vancouver with her participation in the commissioning of the first Arctic patrol vessel for Canada’s Pacific fleet, HMCS Max Bernays.
God’s Acre is a national historic site that dates back to 1868.
Princess Anne’s tour will also see her attend a commemorative service on Sunday for the Battle of the Atlantic at the B.C. legislature.
She is also scheduled to visit the Royal Victoria Yacht Club Sunday and members of the Victoria Therapeutic Riding Association later in the day.
The tour of the cemetery grounds by Princess Anne, the sister of King Charles, carries great significance, said David Loveridge, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission director for Canada, Americas and the Pacific.
The princess is the current president of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, overseeing its mandate to care for 23,000 war memorials and war cemeteries around the world commemorating 1.7 million Commonwealth casualties, he said.
“To have her here in Canada and to come to God’s Acre veterans’ cemetery to lay a wreath is a great event for us to commemorate the veterans who are here,” said Loveridge.