King leads first Remembrance Sunday service at Cenotaph as monarch following mother’s death | UK News
King Charles led the Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph for the first time as monarch to honor the nation’s war dead.
Thousands of medal-wearing veterans, military families and the public gathered at Whitehall in central London for the traditional ceremony and watch sovereignty lay wreaths at the memorial.
This was followed by a two-minute silence signaled by Big Ben’s first bell ringing at 11 a.m. and a volley from a gun fired by the Royal Horse Artillery of the King’s Army at the War. Parade of the Guards nearby.
The Queen considers the Memorial to be one of the most important engagements in the royal calendar
A volley gun signaled the start of two minutes of silence
The moment of solemn reflection ended with the buggers from the Royal Marines playing the Last Card.
The head of the armed forces, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, told Sky News that there are a “special poetic” to this year’s Remembrance Sunday Queen’s death and in the context of Ukraine war.
It also marks the 40th anniversary of Falklands . Islands War.
In Northern Ireland, Irish leader Michael Martin and Northern Ireland Minister Chris Heaton-Harris attended the Remembrance Sunday ceremony in Enniskillen 35 years after an IRA bombing at the event.
Eleven people died on the day of the attack at the town’s war memorial in 1987, with another victim dying years later without ever regaining consciousness from a coma.
It has become a recent tradition for the Irish prime minister to attend the Enniskillen event.
Thousands of veterans wearing medals attended the ceremony
The crowd packed Whitehall for the event
The King was joined at the Cenotaph by other members of the Royal Family, including the Prince of Wales, Earl of Wessex and Princess Royal, who also laid memorial flowers.
Prime minister Rishi Sunak also honored the dead on behalf of the government by leaving a wreath, followed by the Labor leader Sir Keir Starmerother party leaders, senior members of the cabinet, military chiefs of staff and high commissioners.
Rishi Sunak lays a wreath at Cenotaph
Also in attendance were seven former prime ministers – Sir John Major, Sir Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, David Cameron, Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Liz Truss.
Viewed from the balcony of a government building are the Queen Consort and the Princess of Wales.
The Queen Consort and the Princess of Wales seen from the balcony of Whitehall
A short ceremony followed the laying of the main wreaths, with the Bishop of London Dame Sarah Mullally leading a vigil.
Other ceremonies to remember the war dead have been held across the UK.
Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon led the memorials in Edinburgh while her government’s veteran minister, Keith Brown, traveled to the Falkland Islands to attend a remembrance event.
Former British Royal Marine who served in the 1982 conflict.
Ceremonies for the war dead are held across the UK
The Queen, who died nine weeks ago at the age of 96, considers Sunday’s Memorial to be one of the biggest and most important in the royal calendar.
The nation’s longest-reigning monarch lived through the Second World War as a teenager, considering serving as a military mechanic and head of the armed forces.
Irish leader Michael Martin (right) attends a ceremony in Enniskillen 35 years after an IRA bomb
Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon leads demonstrations in Edinburgh
In an interview with Sky News’ Sophy Ridge program on Sunday, Defense Chief of Staff Admiral Radakin said: “I think Remembrance Sunday is always poignant.
“I think it’s poignant for the whole nation, this special moment when we pause to reflect on the sacrifice and commitment of others to providing freedom for us today.
“I think there is a special sadness this year with both the loss of the Queen, another loss of a World War II veteran.
“I also think it’s poignant that we once again have the specter of war in Europe and all that comes with it, and a country that’s been invaded and is fighting for its freedom.”
