Spain, Britian, France mark Trafalgar bicentenary

Spain today marked the 200th anniversary of the battle of Trafalgar with a religious service at a naval base pantheon as part of a world commemoration of the last large-scale naval confrontation in the age of sail.

Spanish Defence Minister Jose Bono was among the main attendants at the pantheon of the naval base of San Fernando, in southern Spain, joined by high-ranking naval officials and descendants of the original combatants from Spain, England and France.

Later today, the main event will be the unveiling of a commemorative plaque by Bono at the University of Cadiz and capped by a laying of wreaths in the sea by a naval flotilla led by a Spanish aircraft carrier and a frigate of each of the participating nations.

At the same time, a flotilla of sailing vessels will also honour the dead and wounded in a ceremony evocative of the original battle between countries now allied in the European Union.