King Charles led the nation on Remembrance Sunday in a poignant service at the Cenotaph in Whitehall. Along with senior members of the Royal Family, politicians and veterans, the King took part in two minutes of silence to remember the sacrifice of the many servicemen and women who gave their lives in service to their country.
The monarch, who was wearing his Field Marshal ceremonial frock coat, was the first to lay his poppy wreath on the Cenotaph, before being followed by a wreath laid on the Queen’s behalf by her equerry.
The Royal Family’s attendance at the Cenotaph on Sunday came after several senior royals attended the annual Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall on Saturday evening.
The King’s wreath closely resembles the one produced for his grandfather, King George VI. It features 41 open-style poppy petals and is tied with a ribbon using the colours from His Majesty’s racing silk – scarlet, purple and gold.
After the King paid his tribute and saluted the Cenotaph, Major Ollie Plunket stepped forward to lay Queen Camilla’s wreath – a design inspired by the one made for Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother.
The Prince of Wales, who returned from Brazil yesterday after celebrating the fifth anniversary of the Earthshot Prize, was the next to step up and lay his wreath, which featured the distinctive white plumes of the Prince of Wales feathers.
A wreath was then laid by the Duke of Edinburgh. The Princess Royal was not present as she is currently on a military-focused tour in Australia and will lay a wreath at the ANZAC memorial in Sydney. The Queen, the Princess of Wales and the Duchess of Edinburgh all watched on from the balcony of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
The Cenotaph was designed by British architect Edwin Lutyens, with the name meaning empty tomb. It symbolises the unprecedented losses suffered during the First World War and has since become the national focal point of remembrance.
It was unveiled by King George V in 1920, and every monarch since has continued to lay a wreath on Remembrance Sunday.
Queen Elizabeth II laid a Wreath at the Cenotaph every year of her reign, until 2017, when she began to watch the service with other female members of the Royal Family and asked the then-Prince of Wales to lay a wreath on her behalf.
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