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Her Majesty The Queen and His Majesty Philippe, the King of the Belgians, attended a service of dedication at the Flanders鈥� Fields Memorial Garden, 100 years after the outbreak of the First World War.

The Flanders鈥� Fields Memorial Garden has been created with soil taken from the 70 battlefields and Commonwealth War Grave cemeteries in Flanders where so many millions had died.

This 鈥榮acred soil鈥� was gathered, with the support of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, by Belgian and British schoolchildren, several of whom attended today鈥檚 opening event.

Her Majesty The Queen and the King of the Belgians laid wreaths in the garden.

The has been created in London at Wellington Barracks adjacent to Buckingham Palace.

Designed by a Belgian architect, Piet Blanckaert, it is inspired by the design of First World War memorials and carries the insignia of all 7 Guards鈥� Regiments who sacrificed so much on the battlefields of Flanders.

During the course of the war they were awarded 25 and by the end 16,000 soldiers from the Household Division were killed and are now buried in the 70 cemeteries of Flanders or remembered on the walls of the Menin Gate in Ypres.

Major General Edward Smyth-Osbourne, the General Officer Commanding the Household Division and , said:

The Guards fought in almost every battle of the First World War. This memorial garden stands proud testament to their achievements in what Winston Churchill called 鈥榯he world crisis鈥�, and is testament to the traditions that we all strive to live up to today.

Combined with the and , the new public access venue at Wellington Barracks will provide a rewarding experience for people in Britain who may be unable to make the journey to the battlefields themselves.

The garden will be open to the public daily between 10am and 4pm.