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Britain's Prince Charles unveils Waterloo memorial

Xinhua, June 17, 2015 Adjust font size:

Britain's Prince Charles unveiled a new memorial honoring the British, Belgian, Dutch and German soldiers who died at the Battle of Waterloo.

Thursday sees the 200th anniversary of the battle, which saw Napoleon's French forces defeated by an army commanded by Britain's Duke of Wellington.

The Prince, in the presence of Belgium's Princess Astrid, unveiled the memorial at Hououmont Farm, at the site of the battle, at noon on Wednesday, local media reported.

The farm, the defence of which played a crucial part in the battle, has recently undergone 4 million euros (about 4.5 million U.S. dollars) restoration.

The memorial depicts two soldiers attempting to close the farm gates in order to repel French soldiers.

Around 200,000 people are anticipated to attend celebrations of the bicentenary of the battle, which includes a two-day re-enactment of event's, involving around 5,000 men in period costume.

Belgium's King Philippe and Queen Mathilde will also meet the descendants of the principle commanders in the battle.

The Battle of Waterloo took place on June 18, 1815. It is considered to be one of the most decisive battles in European history, and saw the final defeat of the Emperor Napoleon. Endit