Published on •Updated
The United Kingdom paid tribute to military service personnel on Sunday during the Festival of Remembrance, held annually to commemorate those who lost their lives in service, in particular during WWI and WWII, but also other conflicts.
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Remembrance Sunday is held on the second Sunday in November, the one nearest to Armistice Day on 11 November, the anniversay of the end of World War I.
Britain’s King Charles III led Sunday’s commemorations, along with other senior members of the royal family including his son, Prince William of Wales.
Queen Camilla and Catherine, Princess of Wales, watched from their traditional place on a balcony of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
The ceremony started with the traditional two-minute silence at 11:00 am local time, after which senior royals and political leaders laid wreaths at the Cenotaph memorial in central London.
For more than a century, this national Remembrance event has been held around the Cenotaph.
The monument, originally built in 1919, became the UK’s national memorial to those who died during the First World War, and was rededicated in 1946 to include those of the Second World War,
Crowds lined the Whitehall area of the capital as political leaders, including Prime Minister Andy Burnham, current and former members of the armed forces, and war veterans, paid their respects to British and Commonwealth soldiers killed in two world wars and other conflicts.
Around 10,000 armed forces veterans took part in a march-past, including 12 who served in World War II.
This year’s festival marks the 35th anniversary of the end of the First Gulf War and 15 years since the conclusion of British military operations in Iraq, with veterans sharing their personal stories and experiences of the conflicts.
Similar memorial services are held simultaneously in dozens of towns and cities across the UK, and on its military bases overseas.
