10 | November | 2011 | Elspeth A. Lodge

November 10, 2011

Duke shows respect for the fallen: To speak at National Memorial Arboretum Appeal event after FIFA poppy victory

Photos Credit: Left (AP) Right (Getty)

William and Kate will attend a black-tie reception and dinner in support of the National Memorial Arboretum Appeal.

The project is one close to the Duke’s heart, as he launched and became a patron of the appeal back in 2009.

The reception and dinner will take place at St. James’s palace, and the duke will deliver a short speech before the dinner.

“The project initially aimed to raise £8 million to develop the area into a world-renowned centre for remembrance, including a new education facility, veterans’ pavilion and central space where major memorial services can be held,” reports AP. “But this was later increased to £12 million as the large number of visitors increased projected annual attendance figures to half a million, and it was decided to create a major area for outside events – Heroes Square.”

During a personal tour of the Arboretum in 2009, it is said William took a personal moment to pay homage to the fallen, as the NMA hosts the Armed Forces Memorial. The memorial remembers those who have passed either in conflict or on duty to their country, as a result of terrorist action since the second world war.

William takes the remembrance of the fallen very seriously, and he showed this just days ago, when he voiced his anger that football’s governing body, the FIFA, had banned English players from wearing remembrance poppies on their shirts.

The Duke wrote to FIFA demanding that they make an “exception” and the organization has reversed it’s ruling.

Clarence House said: “The Duke’s strong view is the poppy is a universal symbol of remembrance, which has no political, religious or commercial connotations.”

A St James’s Palace spokesman said: “The Duke has written to Fifa in his capacity as president of the FA to express his dismay at their decision. The Duke’s strong view is that the poppy is a universal symbol of remembrance, which has no political, religious or commercial connotations. The Duke has asked FIFA to apply an exception in this special circumstance.”

The Duke’s decision was backed by another very influential figure, the Prime Minister of Britain, David Cameron.

On Tuesday Cameron said the ban was “Outrageous”: “The idea that wearing a poppy to remember those who have given their lives for our freedom is a political act is absurd,” he said. “Wearing a poppy is an act of huge respect and national pride. Such initiatives would open the door to similar initiatives from all over the world, jeopardising the neutrality of football,” it said.

PM Cameron voiced his stance yet again when he answered a question about the issue in the House of Commons. He replied: “I think [the questioner] not only speaks for the whole House, but in fact the whole country, [in] being completely baffled and frankly angry [at] the decision made by Fifa. If teams want to be able to put the poppy on their shirt, as many teams in our football league do, they should be able to at the national level, whether it is the English team or whether it is the Welsh team. I think this is an appalling decision and I hope they’ll reconsider it.”

William wore a red poppy on his coat, while at Unicef in Denmark. Photo Credit: Jonathan Nackstrand AFP / Getty Images

Below, Photos from the Duke’s 2009 visit to the National Memorial Arboretum:

Sporting a medal, William poses for pictures at the National Memorial Arboretum in 2009. Photo Credit: Reuters via the Daily Mail 2009

Photo Credit: Christopher Furlong / Getty Images Europe 2009

"Poignant: William at the National Memorial Arboretum in Alrewas, Staffordshire, where he saw the names of two friends among 16,000 others who have died"; Photo Credit: Reuters via the Daily Mail 2009