A new national Armed Forces Memorial has been unveiled in Alrewas, Staffordshire.

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh attended the dedication of the �6m stone circle. Prayers were led by Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams.

The name of the Queen's cousin, Earl Mountbatten, appears on the memorial. He was killed by an IRA bomb in the Irish Republic in 1979.

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall were also at the ceremony. They were accompanied by military dignitaries.

The memorial commemorates those who have died since World War II. There are 16,000 names carved, with room for 15,000 more.

Nine-year-old Georgina Chapman read out a letter for her "daddy up in heaven". Lt Commander Darren Chapman was killed in a helicopter crash in Basra in 2006.

The design of the memorial was the vision of architect Liam O'Connor. The sculptures were created by Ian Rank-Broadley.

Gordon Brown joined the royal party as they toured the memorial and spoke to the relatives of those who have died.

Theresa Evans (left) and Anne Lawrence meet for the first time after finding the names of their sons, who died within 24 hours each other in Iraq.

Members of the Royal British Legion were on parade. The memorial honours those killed on duty or by terrorist action.

Five-year-old Alex Wall from Norfolk inspects the memorial. He wears the medals of his father, Warrant Officer Colin Wall of the Royal Military Police, who was killed in Iraq in 2003.