Queen to unveil memorial to Preston-based troops

Queen Elizabeth II during a service at the National Memorial Arboretum in Alrewas, Staffordshire. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo: Joe Giddens/PA Wire

The Queen will join wounded veterans today (Tuesday) to unveil a memorial paying tribute to soldiers killed while serving in the Preston-based Duke of Lancaster's Regiment in the past decade.

Family and friends of the 32 dead - two thirds of whom were killed on operational duties - have been invited to the private ceremony which will also be attended by serving soldiers, wounded veterans and the regimental band.

The regiment, which recruits in the North West, was formed in 2006 after an amalgamation of the King’s Own Royal Border Regiment, the King’s Regiment, and the Queen’s Lancashire Regiment.

As well as unveiling the memorial, featuring a lion cast in bronze, the Queen is expected to lay down a wreath marking the regiment’s sacrifice.

The Queen, the Colonel-in-Chief of the regiment, will also meet officers from the regiment at the 150-acre National Memorial Arboretum in Alrewas, Staffordshire.