Sunday 21 June 2015

Waterloo 200th anniversary: Arrival of victory news re-enacted

Commemorations of the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo will conclude with a re-enactment of the moment news of the allied victory reached London. A horse-drawn chaise post is retracing the route taken in 1815 from Old Royal Naval College, in Greenwich, to St James's Square, where news from Belgium was delivered to the Prince Regent.
Waterloo dispatch leaves the old Royal Naval College in Greenwich

A procession to mark the occasion will take place in central London later.
Events have taken place in Belgium and the UK to remember the battle.
In June 1815 - following the victory of the Duke of Wellington's allied forces over Napoleon's French army - Major Harry Percy arrived by rowing boat at Broadstairs in Kent with news from the battlefield.

From there, the dispatch was taken by carriage to the Prince Regent, in London.
Actors dressed as Major Percy and Commander James White - who helped to carry the original victory message - have retraced their route across Europe.
They are travelling across London in the horse-drawn carriage with replicas of two captured Imperial Eagles and Standards of the French army.
The eagles will be presented to the Princess Royal during a ceremony in St James's Square later.
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Replicas of two captured Imperial Eagles and Standards of the French army are travelling across London in the horse-drawn carriage
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Actors Michael Bradley (left), dressed as Commander James White, and Julian Farrance, dressed as Major Henry Percy, carry the new Waterloo dispatch
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From Kent, the dispatch was taken by carriage to the Prince Regent, in London
The carriage will then depart to join the Waterloo Parade down The Mall, accompanied by military bands.
The 200th anniversary of the battle has seen a series of events throughout Europe re-enacting important moments.
On Saturday a huge re-enactment of the Battle of Waterloo took place in the same Belgian fields where Napoleon's army was defeated.
Around 6,000 volunteers dressed as infantry and cavalry officers to recreate the battle and commemorate those who died.
The volunteers dressed as soldiers, with 300 horses and 100 cannon, carefully re-enacted the battle for a crowd of 60,000 spectators.
On Thursday, the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall and Prime Minister David Cameron were among guests at a commemoration service at St Paul's Cathedral in London.
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Frenchman Frank Samson played Napoleon during the re-enactment of the battle itself