The Queen has made a poignant pilgrimage to the grave of the Unknown Warrior in Westminster Abbey to mark the centenary of his burial.
A royal aide described the service as “deeply personal” for the monarch, who was married at the abbey in November 1947, and in tribute to the symbolic serviceman she left flowers, based on her wedding bouquet, at his final resting place.
The Unknown Warrior represents First World War dead whose place of death is not known or whose remains are unidentified. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the interment on November 11 1920.
King George V pays his tribute as he placed a wreath on the coffin, mounted on a gun carriage, in Whitehall where the Cenotaph stands (PA)
Crowds lined the streets of Boulogne in France as the coffin carrying the Unknown Warrior begins its journey to Westminster Abbey (PA)
Royal Navy Bluejackets guard the coffin aboard HMS Verdun as it sailed from France (PA)
The coffin being carried into the abbey (PA)
It is not known where in France the British soldier died, nor when, and he symbolises all the unknown dead of the First World War, no matter where they fell (PA)
The grave, which contains soil from France, is covered by a slab of black Belgian marble. It is set in the abbey’s nave by the Great West Door.
The Queen visits the grave of the Unknown Warrior to mark 100 years since he was interred (Aaron Chown/PA)
The Dean of Westminster Abbey David Hoyle (right) watches as the flowers are placed on the tomb in 2020 (Aaron Chown/PA)
The Queen looks on as Lance Corporal Johnson Beharry (left) and Trooper Mark Donaldson, who both hold the Victoria Cross, lay a wreath on Armistice Day in 2009 (PA)
Japanese Emperor Akihito watches as a wreath is laid on his behalf in 1998 (PA)
US president Barack Obama, watched by his wife Michelle, during a wreath-laying during his three-day state visit to the UK in 2011 (PA)
The late Queen Mother established the tradition of royal brides sending their wedding bouquets to the abbey to be placed on the grave.
Stuart Holmes, deputy registrar of Westminster Abbey, places the bridal bouquet from Princes Diana following her wedding to Charles in 1981 (PA)
The Dean of Westminster Dr Wesley Carr kneels behind the bridal bouquet of the Countess of Wessex in 1999 (PA)
The Duchess of Sussex continued the tradition after her 2018 wedding (Victoria Jones/PA)
The wedding bouquet of Princess Eugenie in 2018 (John Stillwell/PA)
