Britain's Princess Anne visits the UN Memorial Cemetery in Nam-gu, Busan, on Tuesday. [Yonhap]
Britain's Princess Anne visits the UN Memorial Cemetery in Nam-gu, Busan, on Tuesday. [Yonhap]

Princess Anne, sister of Britain's King Charles III, made a tribute to Korean War veterans her first stop on her South Korea visit.

The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans said Thursday on its official SNS that Princess Anne visited the UN Memorial Cemetery before any other scheduled engagement during her stay.

Princess Anne visited the UN Memorial Cemetery in Nam-gu, Busan, on Tuesday with her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence. The ministry said she laid a wreath of red poppies to honor the sacrifice and service of Commonwealth soldiers who died in the Korean War, adding that she also visited the grave of British Private M. Hogan on the anniversary of his death, and paid her respects at the graves of soldiers who received the Victoria Cross, Britain's highest military decoration for valor.

Four British soldiers were awarded the Victoria Cross during the Korean War, and three of them are interred at the UN Memorial Cemetery in Busan.

Princess Anne also visited the grave of Major Patrick Angier, who was killed in the Battle of the Imjin River. He had long been buried as an unknown soldier because his identity could not be confirmed. In 2023, the British Ministry of Defence identified him through document tracing and comparative analysis, along with four other unidentified British soldiers interred at the cemetery.

Britain's Princess Anne observes a moment of silence at the grave of Private Hogan on the anniversary of his death at the UN Memorial Cemetery in Nam-gu, Busan, on Tuesday. [Yonhap]
Britain's Princess Anne observes a moment of silence at the grave of Private Hogan on the anniversary of his death at the UN Memorial Cemetery in Nam-gu, Busan, on Tuesday. [Yonhap]

The UN Memorial Cemetery in Busan is the world's only UN memorial cemetery, where 2,399 UN soldiers from 14 countries who died in the Korean War are interred.

Britain sent 81,084 troops to the Korean War, of whom 1,106 were killed. Of those, 892 are buried at the UN Memorial Cemetery.

After paying her respects at the cemetery, Princess Anne met over tea with Korean War veterans Ryu Yeong-bok, Kim Eung-su and Jeong Sik-hyeon.

The ministry said the veterans shared accounts of the operations and experiences they had during the Korean War, and that Princess Anne expressed deep gratitude and respect for their sacrifice in defending South Korea's freedom.

Princess Anne arrived in South Korea on Monday and visited HD Hyundai Heavy headquarters in Ulsan and met with President Lee Jae-myung at Cheong Wa Dae that day. On Wednesday, she toured humanoid robot and semiconductor research and development facilities at Korea University, then visited Save the Children Korea in Mapo-gu, Seoul, where she joined President Lee's wife, Kim Hye-kyung, in encouraging children, youth and young activists.


ygmoon@heraldcorp.com