Princess Anne Honors Allied Dead at Suda Bay, 85 Years After the Battle of Crete
Princess Anne traveled to Crete this past weekend to mark the 85th anniversary of the Battle of Crete, attending commemorations at the Allied War Cemetery in Suda Bay alongside descendants of Cretan fighters and British veterans who have made the island their second home.
The British princess, sister of King Charles and president of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, arrived in Chania on Saturday and first visited Maleme, where a memorial service was held for the fallen of the 30th and 33rd Squadrons of the Royal Air Force. The ceremony opened with a flypast by aircraft from the 30th Squadron and the RAF's Red Arrows aerobatic team.
The Cretan people did not hesitate to stand beside the Allies and endured brutal reprisals and a harsh occupation as a result.
Speaking at the Suda Bay cemetery, Princess Anne addressed the role of the Battle of Crete in shaping the outcome of World War II, paying tribute to British, Australian, and New Zealand soldiers who held their ground against a massive Nazi airborne assault in 1941. She made particular mention of the Cretan people, noting they did not hesitate to stand beside the Allies and endured brutal reprisals and a harsh occupation as a result.
Before the Suda Bay ceremony, a young Cretan woman, now 21, attended the Maleme service wearing traditional dress. She had accompanied a British veteran of the Battle of Crete to commemorations since she was four years old, and after his death last year, chose to continue the tradition on her own.
Princess Anne had arrived in Athens on Thursday, meeting Greek President Konstantinos Tasoulas at the Presidential Mansion on Friday. Tasoulas highlighted the shared wartime history of Greeks and Britons who stood against the Nazis, and also acknowledged Princess Anne's role as president of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. She also toured the Joint Operations and Crisis Management Coordination Center in Athens and attended a formal lunch hosted by the Union of Greek Shipowners president Melina Travlou, given her role as president of the Mission to Seafarers.
On Sunday morning, before departing, she visited the Naval Museum of Chania and walked to the corner tower of the fortress where the Greek flag was raised on December 1, 1913, marking the official union of Crete with Greece.
