Gordon Brown is set to honour servicemen and women past and present at the first Armed Forces Day hosted by Chatham's Historic Dockyard.

While some national papers were reporting concern that no senior royal was attending, both the Mirror and the Daily Mail suggested the prime minister would join senior defence staff at the event.

Representing the royal family will be the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester. Also there will be defence minister Kevan Jones, and the chief of the defence staff Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup, along with 30,000 people at the national event at the Historic Dockyard Chatham, tomorrow .

The group will be joined thousands of members of the armed forces, veterans, cadets and their families, for the day of celebration, which begins with a parade of 200 service personnel from the Royal Navy, the Army, the Royal Air Force through Chatham Town Centre.

The parade is being led by the band of Her Majesty’s Royal Marines.
They will be joined en route by 450 veterans and will enter the historic site to be met by HRH The Duke of Gloucester and Mr Brown, who will take the Royal Salute.

• For more on the Armed Forces Day see our special report