King Charles leads Royal Family to remember war dead at moving Remembrance Sunday service
It was an emotional day at today's Remembrance Day service at the Cenotaph in Whitehall as the King lead other members of the Royal Family to pay tribute to the war dead.
Together with senior politicians, the King, the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Edinburgh and the Princess Royal personally laid wreaths during the National Service of Remembrance to mark the Armistice of the First World War and all other conflicts involving British and Commonwealth forces. Tributes were also laid on behalf of Queen Camilla - who is continuing to recover from a chest infection - and on behalf of The Duke of Kent, 89, who watched the service from a balcony above.
Also in attendance was the Princess of Wales, who stood on the balcony of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office with the Duchess of Edinburgh, meanwhile the rest of the royal party was made up by Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester.
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The moving event took place the day after the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall which saw many heart-breaking stories, as well as fitting musical tributes from the likes of Sir Tom Jones, Samantha Barks and Alexandra Burke.
And while the Princess of Wales has been able to make two consecutive days of appearances, Queen Camilla has had to pull out owing to a chest infection. It will have been a difficult decision to make, particularly because of the Queen's family's military background.
Queen Camilla's father, Major Bruce Shand, had an interesting time during his wartime service. He served with the 12th Lancers during the Second World War, earning the Military Cross twice once in 1940 during the retreat to Dunkirk, and again in 1942 for his North Africa campaign. Despite being wounded and captured in the same region, he survived the ordeal, passing away at the age of 89 in June 2006.
The design of the Royal Family's wreaths are steeped in tradition, with King Charles' design closely resembling the one used by his grandfather, King George VI, during his reign. It features 41 open style poppy petals made from bonded fabric and features ribbon and bow using the colours from The King’s racing silk – scarlet, purple and gold.
The tribute made for Queen Camilla was laid by her Equerry, Major Ollie Plunkett, and closely resembles the wreath produced for Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother, while being made up of 95 poppies and finished with ribbon using the colours from The Queen’s racing silk – brown, red and yellow.
The Royal British Legion’s veteran parade saw 10,000 veterans, representing 326 different armed forces and civilian organisations, march past the Cenotaph in Whitehall, London.
Thousands of people lined Whitehall to take part in the two-minute silence. This year marks the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings in the Second World War and the 25th anniversary of the end of the war in Kosovo.
It also marks the 75th anniversary of Nato and the 120th anniversary of the Entente Cordiale between the UK and France. More than 800 sailors, soldiers and aviators will be on duty on Remembrance Sunday, representing their services at the Cenotaph and at commemorative services at Westminster Abbey and Westminster Cathedral.
