The Queen and the Prime Minister will both attend a special national memorial service at St Paul's Cathedral in May, it was announced today. The service will be held in memory of all the British victims of the Asian-African tsunami.
Each of the 82 Britons that have been confirmed dead in the tragedy will be represented at the service along with many other friends and relatives of those still missing since the tsunami hit in December on Boxing Day.
The service will see people of all faiths join together as one in London’s historic Cathedral to mourn and remember those lost.
A host of other senior members of the Royal family are also expected to attend, along with leading MP’s and politicians. Also invited will be representatives from communities, faiths and relief agencies from all over the world with connections to the great suffering that was caused by the tsunami.
It is expected that all 2,300 seats will be taken, as St Paul’s is packed to its capacity for the May 11th service.
Organisers have also said that not only UK-victims will be remembered, but also the immense pain felt by all countries affected will be included, along with those who have given so much in providing the desperate humanitarian relief to the needy regions.
The tsunami has now been registered as an incident claiming the greatest loss of British life since the Second World War. The exact number of those who died is still not know, however, 107 Britons are missing and have been classed as "highly likely" to have been killed in the disaster. In addition, another 75 have been registered as "possibly involved".
The Scotsman reports that invitations from the government will soon be sent out to those who are thought to have lost loved ones in the disaster inviting to the service.
A Buckingham Palace release has commented, "This has been a significant tragedy, with great loss of life, and it is important that the Queen, as Head of State, is there to express the nation’s sympathy with the bereaved families."
