Meghan Markle at Anzac Day service: Prince Harry's bride-to-be looks sombre at first official remembrance service with her fiancé

They were welcomed in the early hours of the morning for the moving service, near Hyde Park, which is attended by hundreds of Australians and New Zealanders each year.

The couple, who will marry at St George's Chapel, Windsor, on May 19, were paying tribute to the hundreds of Kiwi and Australian soldiers who lost their lives in the First World War.

They were greeted by a representative from Ngati Ranana - the London Maori Club - with a traditional hongi, the soft pressing of noses and the sharing of each other's breath.

Anzac Day 2018 - In pictures

1/52

As the sun rose over the capital, Prince Harry, 33, and Ms Markle, 36, joined with singing hymns and watched Maori dancers performing the Haka, the traditional war cry and dance in Maori culture.

Anzac Day marks the anniversary of the start of the First World War Gallipoli landings, and is a national day of remembrance for Australia and New Zealand.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle attend a dawn Anzac Day service in Hyde Park
Ian Vogler

Organised by the New Zealand and Australian High Commissions, Anzac Day has been commemorated in London since the first anniversary of the landings in 1916.

Harry, who had a stint serving with the Australian military, later laid the wreaths at both the New Zealand and Australian war memorials in tribute to those who paid the ultimate sacrifice during the war and subsequent conflicts.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle attended the Dawn Service at Wellington Arch
REUTERS

Ms Markle, dressed in a long grey military style coat - adorned with a red poppy - and black hat for the occasion, looked on.

Both then signed a book of remembrance - the first time Ms Markle would have done so in her role as a soon-to-be member of the Royal Family.

The couple joined Sir Jerry Mateparae and Alexander Downer, the high commissioners of New Zealand and Australian respectively, for the service of remembrance.

Later in the day, the prince and Ms Markle will attend a Westminster Abbey congregation for a service of commemoration and thanksgiving.

The couple were were greeted by a representative from Ngati Ranana - the London Maori Club - with a traditional hongi
Arthur Edwards

And, at a wreath laying and parade service at the Cenotaph in Whitehall, Harry will leave a floral tribute on behalf of the Queen.

Thousands of Anzac troops - Australian and New Zealand Army Corps - died in the ill-fated 1915 campaign on the Turkish peninsula.

Organised by the New Zealand and Australian High Commissions, Anzac Day has been commemorated in London since the first anniversary of the Anzac landings at Gallipoli.

Anzac Day 2018 - In pictures

1/52

The then reigning monarch King George V attended a service at Westminster Abbey and more than 2,000 Australian and New Zealand troops marched through the streets.

Since then, the services have become an important moment to recognise the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps who died during the landings.

Hundreds are expected to take part in the parade including members of veterans associations and ex-service personnel and their families.

In 2015 Harry had a four-week stint with the Australian Defence Force before he left the army.

He was embedded with several Australian army units and regiments in Sydney, Darwin and Perth during his exchange.

For Australians and New Zealanders the Gallipoli campaign was nothing less than an affirmation of nationhood.

A Dawn Service ceremony at the Anzac Cove beach, the site of World War I landing of the ANZACs (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) on April 25, 1915, in Gallipoli
AP

Over half the Allied casualties, 73,485, were British and Irish troops. New Zealand suffered around 8000 killed and wounded, about 5.6 per cent of Allied casualties on Gallipoli.

The whole Gallipoli operation cost 26,111 Australian casualties, including 8,141 deaths.

The Ottoman Empire paid a heavy price for their victory: an estimated 250,000 Turkish and Arab troops were killed or wounded defending Gallipoli.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in