The Duke of Cambridge has described the First World War Christmas Day Truce as a "message of hope and humanity" as a memorial to the event was unveiled.

Prince William spoke during a dedication ceremony for the monument, which marks the moment opposing soldiers on the Western Front stopped fighting in the spirit of Christmas.

Schoolboy Spencer Turner's design for the monument was chosen by the Duke and England forward Theo Walcott following a national competition among schools.

The memorial depicts the hands of an English and German soldier clasped in friendship inside a steel representation of a football.

The Duke told the invited guest at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire

We all grew up with the story of soldiers from both sides putting down their arms to meet in No Man's Land on Christmas Day, 1914 - when gunfire remarkably gave way to gifts. Duke of Cambridge

William, who has been president of the Football Association since 2006, said 10-year-old Spencer had captured "the very essence of the Christmas Truce with his stunning design".

"It is vital that 100 years on, we keep the Christmas Truce story alive - that moment captured so beautifully by Spencer when hands that had held weapons came together in peaceful greeting," he added.