PRINCE EDWARD joined a 600-strong congregation in Belfast to remember those killed in what has been the bloodiest summer for the British army since the Korean war.
The memorial and thanksgiving service was held at St Anne’s Cathedral to mark the return from Afghanistan of 19th Light Brigade, which is based in Northern Ireland.
Among those remembered at the interdenominational service were the two army engineers shot dead at Massereene in Antrim last March by dissident republicans.
Mark Quinsey and Patrick Azimkar were the first entries on the list of 83 army casualties suffered while the brigade was deployed in Helmand province, Afghanistan, for six months.
Prince Edward, who represented Queen Elizabeth, is Royal Colonel of 2nd Battalion, The Rifles, which is based at Ballykinlar and is one of the main units in 19th Light Brigade.
Joining him at the cathedral were Harriet Harman, leader of the House of Commons; Bob Ainsworth, British defence secretary; Sir Jock Stirrup, defence staff air marshall; and Paul Goggins, the direct rule minister in charge of policing and justice in Northern Ireland.
Also in attendance were First Minister and DUP leader Peter Robinson accompanied by Iris Robinson, the DUP MP for Strangford.
Lord mayor of Belfast Naomi Long was introduced to the prince by Dame Mary Peters, who is lord-lieutenant of the County Borough of Belfast.
During the service, which was led by Dean Houston McKelvey, the names of those killed in Northern Ireland and Helmand were read aloud by Brig Tim Radford, commander of the 19th brigade.
Speaking outside the cathedral, Mr Ainsworth welcomed the announcement by US president Barack Obama of an additional 30,000 troops to be sent to Afghanistan, and he predicted progress in the coming 12 months.