Queen to pay respects to Holocaust dead in 'tremendously significant' visit to Bergen-Belsen

The Queen will visit the former Nazi death camp at Bergen-Belsen today, in what Jewish leaders have called a "tremendously significant" event.

It will be Her Majesty's first trip to the site of a concentration camp, which was liberated along with the others 70 years ago by British troops at the end of the Second World War.

The visit to the site, now a memorial to all those who died at the hands of the Nazis, will be held with a minimum of ceremony to allow personal reflection.

During her visit, the Queen will be joined by the Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, who has spoken of what it will mean to Jews everywhere.

His sentiments were echoed by the chief executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust, Karen Pollock, who said she expected it to be a "symbolic and meaningful visit".

Tens of thousands of prisoners from across Europe were killed at Bergen-Belsen, or died as a result of their treatment there.

Among them were famous teenage wartime diarist Anne Frank and her sister Margot.

British troops took over the site on April 15, 1945.

During the visit, the Queen and Prince Philip will meet survivors and liberators, as well as representatives from Jewish and Christian communities.

They will visit a number of memorials, including one dedicated to Anne Frank, and the Queen is due to lay a wreath at the inscription wall.