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LONDON — <\/span>Thousands of military personnel, veterans and members of the public gathered under blue skies Sunday in London as King Charles III<\/a> led Britain\u2019s annual ceremony of remembrance for the country\u2019s war dead.<\/p>\n As Parliament\u2019s Big Ben bell tolled 11 a.m., the crowd fell still for two minutes of silence, broken by a single artillery blast and Royal Marines buglers sounding \u201cThe Last Post.\u201d<\/p>\n The 76-year-old king, dressed in the uniform of an army field marshal, laid a wreath of red paper poppies on a black background at the base of the Cenotaph war memorial near Parliament. Erected over a century ago to honor the British and allied troops killed in World War I, it has become the focus of annual ceremonies for members of military and civilian services killed in that war and subsequent conflicts.<\/p>\n The national ceremony of remembrance is held every year on the nearest Sunday to the anniversary of the end of World War I on Nov. 11, 1918, at 11 a.m. Similar memorial services are held in dozens of towns and cities across Britain and at U.K. military bases overseas.<\/p>\n A military band played as heir to the throne Prince William followed his father in laying a wreath on the simple Portland stone monument inscribed with the words \u201cthe glorious dead.\u201d<\/p>\n Other members of the royal family followed, including the king\u2019s youngest brother, Prince Edward \u2014 but not former prince Andrew Mountbatten Windsor.<\/a> The king stripped his brother Andrew of his titles<\/a> last month and evicted him from his royal mansion over his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein<\/a>.<\/p>\n Wreaths were also laid by Prime Minister Keir Starmer, other political leaders and diplomats from Commonwealth nations.<\/p>\n Queen Camilla, the Princess of Wales and other members of the royal family watched from their traditional place on a balcony of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.<\/p>\n