London
DailyExpertNews
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King Charles III leads Britain’s annual memorial service for the first time as monarch.
The King attends the service with Camilla, the Queen Consort and other members of the Royal Family at The Cenotaph in central London.
The king laid a new wreath at the cenotaph, the design of which pays tribute to the wreath of his grandfather, King George VI, and Queen Elizabeth II.
The wreath’s poppies are mounted on an arrangement of black leaves, as is traditional, and the ribbon bears the king’s racing colors: scarlet, purple, and gold.
Camilla watched the moment from the balcony of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. For the first time, a wreath was laid on her behalf.
The wreaths of the King and Queen Consort were accompanied by handwritten cards with their new numbers.
At 11 a.m. local time (6 p.m. ET), a two-minute national silence was held, marked by the tolls of Big Ben — now officially back in use after a five-year restoration project.
Other members of the royal family attending the service include William and Kate, the Prince and Princess of Wales, Edward and Sophie, the Earl and Countess of Wessex and Princess Anne.
Sunday’s event also included a march of some 10,000 Royal British Legion veterans, including World War II veterans and those who have served in conflict since then.
The annual service is held on the Sunday closest to November 11 – the day World War I ended in 1918.
The event commemorates all those who died in conflict.
On Saturday evening, members of the Royal Family including Charles, Camilla, William and Kate attended the annual Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall. The event, which also commemorated 40 years since the Falklands War, featured a video tribute to Queen Elizabeth.
Charles, 73, became British monarch after his mother’s death in September. His coronation is scheduled for next May to have time to mourn Elizabeth’s death and plan the ceremony.