Duke joins Royal visitors

The Duke of Edinburgh is the latest member of the Royal Family to confirm his attendance at a dedication ceremony in Staffordshire next month.

He will be joining the Queen and Prince Charles at the formal dedication ceremony of a £7 million memorial on October 12.

The Armed Forces Memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum, Alrewas, is dedicated to 16,000 Armed Forces personnel.

A total of 3,000 tickets have already been allocated for families and friends of those killed on duty since 1948, and were made available by application only.

Following the formal dedication the memorial will be open to the general public on October 29.

Today the Ministry of Defence confirmed the Duke of Edinburgh will be joining his family members.

Invitations have also been sent to leaders of political parties - although it is too early to confirm their attendance.

The memorial will list the names of 15,500 personnel who have lost their lives in service since the end of World War Two.

In April an appeal to raise the final £1million needed to complete the memorial was launched by The Good Life actress, Penelope Keith.

The Sponsor a Tree campaign will see 57 trees encircle the ceremony.