Palace issues statement on Prince Edward's foreign visit

The Royal Family on Thursday released details of Prince Edward's recent visit to Belgium on it's official website.

According to the statement, "The Duke of Edinburgh has visited Belgium where he visited the site of the historic Waterloo Battlefield and Hougoumont Farm."

It said The Duke met 10 International Gold Award Students, they discussed their experiences of participating in the Award.

"At the Waterloo 1815 Museum, The Duke met members of staff and took part in a museum tour where he viewed exhibits including Tactics, Weaponry, Apsley House and the Cotton Collection."

" At the farm, they are currently restoring the gardens, with the hope of welcoming visitors in the future. The Duke had the opportunity to learn more about the current restoration and the next phase of the project. The aim is to revive the site’s historic orchard, vegetable plots and restore the French formal garden to how it existed in 1815, the day of the battle."

"At the British and French Monuments, The Duke laid wreaths to pay tribute to the fallen. He also toured the sight of the former battlefield."

"In the Gardens, His Royal Highness was invited to plant some ‘Tree of Peace’ (Hiroshima Ginko) seeds. The sapling that The Duke planted descended from a tree that survived the atomic bomb in 1945."