Duchess Sophie steps in for King Charles as she attends Anzac Day service in London

The looked sombre as she attended a today in London. Duchess Sophie, dressed in all black, visited the Australian War Memorial at Hyde Park Corner early Friday morning to attend the annual Anzac Day commemorations for the sacrifices of Australian and New Zealand forces.

The royal laid a wreath during the dawn service and will also attend another wreath-laying ceremony at the Cenotaph and later a Westminster Abbey service of commemoration and thanksgiving. She was joined by Stephen Smith, Australia's High Commissioner, and Chris Seed, acting High Commissioner for New Zealand, who also attended the dawn service at Hyde Park Corner along with fellow countrymen and women. Anzac Day has been commemorated in the capital since the first anniversary of the First World War Anzac - Australian and New Zealand Army Corps - landings at Gallipoli, Turkey, in 1916, when King George V attended a service at Westminster Abbey.

Since then, the services have become an important moment for thousands of New Zealanders and Australians, who honour the sacrifices of their countrymen and women in all wars.

Meanwhile, Princess Anne remembered "brave Anzacs" in their own words during a dawn service in north-west Turkey.

The Princess Royal laid a wreath on that fateful coastline and reflected on the words of three men who were involved in the assault, including one of the first to land on the beach.

One described the "pluck" that "our boys" had shown, while another described the "terrible sight of hundreds of dead and wounded lying all along the beach - I shall never forget it".

Anne spoke about an eight-month-long campaign which cost and changed the lives of tens of thousands of Australian, New Zealand, British and French soldiers.

She said: "Their words have helped us understand and support families left behind. 110 years later, we stand here at dawn to commemorate the Anzacs, remembering their bravery, courage and sacrifice. We also remember all Australian and New Zealand men and women who since that day have served their country in wars, conflicts and peace missions. Their service is not forgotten, we will remember them."

Anzac Day commemorates the sacrifice of Australian and New Zealand forces who were killed in the Gallipoli landings in 1915.

Troops of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps - shortened to Anzac - landed on the western shore of the Gallipoli peninsula on April 25, 1915, as part of the failed campaign that lasted into 1916.

More than 100,000 troops died in the Gallipoli campaign during the First World War by the UK and allies to capture the Dardanelles Strait.

The assault in 1915 was intended to wound the then Ottoman Empire and cut off a key connecting water route between the Aegean Sea and the Black Sea, a move which would have also aided Russia.