LONDON — King Charles III led the nation in a two-minute silence Sunday in remembrance of fallen servicemen in central London as the Princess of Wales looked on, a further sign that the royal family is slowly returning to normal at the end of a year. in which two of the most popular royals were sidelined due to cancer.
Remembrance Sunday is a totemic event in the United Kingdom, where the monarch leads members of the royal family, political leaders including Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his eight living predecessors, and envoys from Commonwealth countries who lay memorials. wreaths at the Cenotaph, the Portland stone memorial that serves as a place of worship. as a focal point to honor the country’s war dead.
The service is held on the second Sunday in November to mark the signing of the armistice ending the First World War “at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month” in 1918. Throughout the United Kingdom, services are held at the same time. in memory of the dead.
After the two minutes of silence, the Royal Marines buglers played the ‘Last Post’ and Charles led the service’s wreath-laying.
The 75-year-old king, dressed in his Royal Navy fleet admiral uniform, laid a wreath of poppies at the foot of the cenotaph in recognition of those killed in conflicts dating back to the First World War.
His eldest son and heir to the throne, Prince William, left his own floral tribute, including the Prince of Wales’s feathers and a new Welsh red ribbon.
Dressed in dark black, his wife, Kate, watched from a balcony of the neighboring Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, as is tradition. Queen Camilla, who normally stood next to the princess, was not present as she recovered from a lung infection.
This is the first time since the start of the year that Kate has two consecutive days of official engagements. On Saturday she attended the Royal British Legion Festival Of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall.
After the laying of wreaths, approximately 10,000 veterans, including those who fought in this century’s wars, including Afghanistan and Iraq, paraded in front of the cenotaph. Over time, only a handful of World War II veterans were present.
“It’s always a great honor to be back on occasions like this, but I remember the guys who never made it back to my ship when it was torpedoed,” said Stan Ford, 99 years old, who once had to walk with leg stirrups. since the ship he served on, HMS Fratton, was sunk off the French Normandy coast in August 1944, with the loss of 31 lives.
“They never came home, and I always felt it was my duty to make an appearance and thank God for those who survived, and to pray for those who did not” , said Ford, who was one of 38 survivors.
Charles’s ceremonial role as commander-in-chief of the armed forces is a holdover from the days when the monarch led his troops into battle. But the bond between the monarchy and the military remains very strong, with the military swearing allegiance to the king and members of the royal family supporting military personnel through various charities. Charles and William served on active duty in the army before taking on full-time royal duties.
Charles was diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer in February, forcing him to step away from public appearances for two months to focus on his treatment and recovery. A few weeks later, Kate announced her own cancer diagnosis, which sidelined her for much of the year while she underwent chemotherapy.
The king has been in good form in recent months and recently made a grueling trip to Australia and Samoa. Kate, who made her first public appearance after diagnosis at the monarch’s birthday parade in June, is slowly returning to public duties.
Prince William reflected this week on the pressure the cancer scare has put on the royal family.
“I’m so proud of my wife, I’m proud of my father, for handling the things that they did,” William told reporters Thursday as he wrapped up a four-day trip to South Africa. “But from a personal family point of view, it’s been, yes, it’s been brutal.”
While the Cenotaph was the center of the national memorial service, communities across the UK held their own ceremonies on Sunday.
Needham-Crofton, who served in the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers before a truck accident ended his military career, planned to attend a local service in Eastbourne, on the south coast of England.
He spent much of his time honoring and trying to help veterans, including 20 years as a volunteer for the Taxi Charity for Military Veterans. Like some of his military duties, fundraising was rather exhausting as it involved standing outside London Underground stations collecting coins to help fund the group’s efforts.
“I like to respect all veterans and do what I can for them,” he told the Associated Press. “It really is a brotherhood. Even if you don’t know a veteran you meet, you feel a kinship toward them. It’s very important to me. I will be like this for the rest of my life.
