Kate and Wills join world leaders for moving Somme vigil as Britain falls silent on 100th anniversary of our bloodiest-ever battle
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are attending the ceremony in France alongside Prime Minister David Cameron and French president Francois Hollande
The Duchess of Cambridge looked radiant as she joined other senior royals and political leaders to remember the brave men who lost their lives at the Battle of the Somme 100 years ago.
The beautiful royal attended a memorial at the scene of the bloody World War I conflict in France alongside her husband William, Prince Harry, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall.
Prime Minister David Cameron and French president Francois Hollande will also take part in the ceremony at Picardy fields in the Northern French countryside where more than one million men were either wounded or killed.
The event, which will feature a huge audience of 10,000 people, is at the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme which towers over the battlefield.
The service involved hymns, readings and music reflecting the cultural and military impact of the site to help tell the story of the Somme.
Kate, William and Harry spoke to children from both British and French schools after the ceremony.
The schoolchildren laid wreaths wreaths and bouquets at the graves of fallen soldiers.
But while Kate impressed students with her language skills, the children said Harry needs to brush up on his French.
After chatting to the Duchess of Cambridge, Kamelia el Alelga, 15, from Beauvais, near Paris, said: "Her French was very good. She asked my age, my name and if we all come from the same school."
She said the Duchess had also spoken about the service in English, adding: "She said it was really impressive and emotional. It was amazing to meet her - it was everything."
Berteel Py, 11, from Courcelles-les-Gisors, was also impressed by Kate's French, saying: "She asked me my name and my age and said she was happy to be here."
Berteel, who also spoke to Prince Harry, added: "He asked me if his French was good or bad.
“Of course I said it was good, but I didn't really understand what he was saying to me."
Back in the UK, the nation fell silent to honour the thousands of soldiers who were killed in the conflict which lasted nearly five months from July 1 until November 18, 1916.
Last night, William paid tribute to the more than 72,000 men whose names adorn the Thiepval monument, whose bodies have never been found, and those laying in Commonwealth cemeteries.
"The sacrifice you made will never, ever be forgotten."
On Thursday, William, Kate and Harry had climbed to the top of Sir Edwin Lutyens' monument to view the battlefield before the vigil started.
At Westminster Abbey the Queen laid a wreath of roses on the grave of the Unknown Warrior before a bugler sounded the Last Post.
Harry read the poem Before Action, written by Lieutenant WN Hodgson of the 9th Battalion the Devonshire Regiment, who wrote it days before he was killed in action on July 1 1916.
The congregation included descendants of the men who fought at the Somme.
Prince William paid tribute to the soldiers killed saying "we lost the flower of a generation".
The Queen attended a service at Westminster Abbey as the young Royals visited the Thiepval Memorial in France, where 70,000 British and Commonwealth soldiers are commemorated.
William spoke of European governments "including our own" who failed to "prevent the catastrophe of world war".
He said: "We lost the flower of a generation and in the years to come it sometimes seemed that with them a sense of vital optimism had disappeared for ever from British life.
"It was in many ways the saddest day in the long story of our nation."
"It was in many ways the saddest day in the long story of our nation
Prince William
Prime Minister David Cameron said the events were an opportunity to reflect on the devastation caused by a conflict "which left mothers without sons, wives without husbands and children without fathers".
Cameron has hailed the sacrifice of hundreds of thousands of soldiers killed and wounded at the Battle of the Somme ahead of the 100th anniversary of the catastrophic slaughter.
A night-long vigil, led by the Queen at Westminster Abbey, echoed across the UK and Ireland, ends before 7.30am, the time the Tommies went over the top in Picardy on July 1 1916.
The Bishop of London tonight said The Battle of the Somme's legacy should see people working towards reconciliation to ensure today's children never endure what the First World War soldiers faced.
Mr Cameron said the commemoration allowed people "to reflect on the sacrifice not just of the thousands of British and Commonwealth troops who gave their lives, but of the men on all sides who did not return home".
He said: "It is an opportunity to think about the impact of the devastation felt by communities across all of the nations involved, which left mothers without sons, wives without husbands and children without fathers.
"The young men who left our shores believed in the cause for which they fought and we honour their memory.
"But today is also a chance to stand as friends with the representatives of all the countries who are here today.
"This event and the Thiepval monument itself bear testament to a solemn pledge - those who died here will never be forgotten."
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