Britain's Prince William honored the fallen of WWII yesterday, laying a wreath to mark the 60th anniversary of the end of the war in the northern city of Auckland.
The second-in-line to the British throne laid the wreath of poppies at the Auckland War Memorial Cenotaph, to pay his respects to veterans who fought for freedom.
Australian Prime Minister Helen Clark and Governor general Dame Silvia Cartwright also laid wreaths at the ceremony before the prince spent an hour talking with veterans.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Clark told the veterans that New Zealand had stood shoulder to shoulder with the United Kingdom from the first day of WWII until the last.
She thanked Prince William for being at the ceremony.
"It is especially fitting, given the role played by Prince William's great grandparents, [King] George VI and Queen Elizabeth ... that he is here today as their direct descendant to honor the New Zealand contribution to the defeat of fascism and militarism," Clark said.
Representing his grandmother, Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, for only the second time, Prince William carried out his first ever inspection of a Royal Guard of Honor.
He paid tribute to the sacrifices of veterans as he met a group of around 40 following the open air ceremony.
One former soldier told the prince: "You're very special."
Prince William replied: "No, no, you're the ones who are special," Press Association, the British news agency, reported.
But the elderly former trooper insisted to William: "You're an inspiration to the young."
Former All Black rugby captain and coach Fred Allen, who fought in Italy during WWII, told William: "People think you're doing great. You just keep it up," the agency reported.
Earlier the prince, who has been in the country for 11 days mainly to follow the British and Lions rugby tour, attended a service at Auckland's Holy Trinity Anglican Cathedral led by the Dean of Auckland, Bishop Richard Randerson.
The London terror bombings on Thursday which killed at least 50 people had cast a shadow over the final days of the tour, Randerson said to the memorial service congregation.
"Our hearts go out to the families of the victims, the injured, and to British visitors to this country," he told the packed congregation.
"The deaths underline the reality that the loss of innocent life in any country is a moral outrage to be opposed by every nation upon earth," he said.
Prince William was due to fly out of the country later yesterday bound for London.
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