It was one of the most horrific disasters of the First World War , which still haunts the descendants of those who died . Yesterday , as commemorations were held all over the world to mark the 100th anniversary of the Gallipoli campaign , the Royal Family led tributes to those who fought and fell in the ill-fated offensive . The day began in London with a dawn ceremony at Wellington Arch on Hyde Park Corner , attended by Princess Anne . Later the Queen , joined by the Duke of Edinburgh , Prince William and political leaders , led the nation during a ceremony at the Cenotaph in Whitehall , while Prince Charles was in Turkey with Prince Harry . Princes Charles and Harry chat during a visit to The Nek , a narrow stretch of ridge on the Anzac battlefield . Prince Harry stops for a photo with a fan during the royal visit to Turkey yesterday . The pair looked sombre during the New Zealand Memorial Service , held at Chunuk Bair , Turkey . Prince Harry greets the large New Zealand crowds at a service marking the country 's involvement in the doomed Gallipoli campaign , alongside conservative New Zealand Tukituki MP Craig Foss ( left ) Afterwards the Queen joined a service of remembrance at Westminster Abbey , where she laid a wreath at the Grave Of The Unknown Warrior . The national flags of Australia , New Zealand , Turkey and the UK were carried through the Abbey and placed close to the high altar as a sign of reconciliation between old enemies . Earlier , Charles and Harry joined more than 10,000 people in a dawn pilgrimage at Gallipoli to honour the bravery of the Allied troops who stormed the peninsula 's beaches in 1915 . The landings were supposed to be a decisive blow that would knock the Turks out of the war . But eight months of bloody fighting later , after an estimated 145,000 lives on both sides had been lost , the Allies pulled out , having failed in their objective . Around 58,000 Allied troops were killed , many from Australia and New Zealand . Almost 36,000 Commonwealth servicemen are buried or commemorated on Gallipoli . Prince Charles gave a moving reading about troops weeping as they left their dead comrades behind when they left Gallipoli . He read the words of a soldier , who wrote : 'The hardest feature of the evacuation was in leaving those dead comrades behind . They had bequeathed us a sacred trust . ' Yesterday Prince Charles gave a moving reading about troops weeping as they left their dead comrades behind when they left Gallipoli . Prince Charles walks hand in hand with Turgut Kacmaz , the son of Turkey 's oldest Gallipoli veteran . Turkey 's EU Minister Volkan Bozkir walks and talks with Prince Charles . We will remember them : Retired Australian army Major John Titley at the Wellington Arch commemoration . Queen Elizabeth and The Duke of Edinburgh attend a commemoration service at Westminster Abbey . The pair were joined by Prince William , who remained in London awaiting the birth of his second child . The Queen and Prince William take a seat at Westminster Abbey . The Gallipoli landings were supposed to be a decisive blow that would knock the Turks out of the war . Yesterday the Queen joined a service of remembrance at Westminster Abbey , where she laid a wreath at the Grave Of The Unknown Warrior . Pictured right is a 1915 image of a British solider paying his respects at the grave of a comrade near Cape Helles .
Yesterday Commonwealth led tributes to those who fought at Gallipoli . The day began in London with a dawn ceremony and service at Whitehall . The Queen , the Duke of Edinburgh and Prince William all attended . Prince Charles and Prince Harry led the tributes in Turkey , where they were joined by thousands of people and leaders from the Royal Family nations .