Prince William has joined senior members of the Royal Family, leading the nation in the Remembrance Sunday commemorations at the Cenotaph in Whitehall. Prince William has also been joined by leading politicians, alongside representatives of the armed forces, Commonwealth nations, and multi-faith communities.
As the bells of Big Ben toll eleven, and a single gun on Horse Guards Parade is fired, two minutes of complete silence will be held in remembrance of all lost in war.
The historic wreath-laying ceremony is in honour of all those who have died in service, and across the country, veterans and their families will reflect on the personal significance of Remembrance.
Once a further round of gunfire signifies the end of the silence, the bugle call ‘The Last Post’ is played. His Majesty, Prince William and others, including High Commissioners from the Commonwealth, will lay wreaths of poppies at the foot of the Cenotaph.
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.
William has recently returned from Brazil for the Earthshot Prize Awards and the prince’s five-day visit to Brazil was been focused on climate and the environment.
During his trip, he criticised criminals for their involvement in the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest during a speech at the United for Wildlife conference.He also travelled to the small island of Paqueta, where he met locals, learnt about mangrove conservation and planted tree saplings.
In addition, his speech at COP30 was Prince William’s highest-profile public address to date, speaking on behalf of the UK government and his father, King Charles, with whom he shared the contents of his address before his departure for Brazil.
William told delegates at COP30: “When we unite behind shared purpose, we can scale and accelerate solutions that transcend borders. Solutions that give us hope, and fill us with optimism, for the future.”
He went on to talk about the Earthshot Prize Awards, as he called for unity in the fight for climate change.
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‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.express.co.uk ’
