King Charles III led the United Kingdom in honouring Britain’s fallen soldiers in a Remembrance Sunday ceremony in London in the wake of hundreds of thousands of anti-Israel protesters taking to the British capital the day before.
Adorned in the uniform of the Marshal of the Royal Air Force, King Charles led the nation in a two-minute moment of silence and laid a wreath of poppies at the base of the Cenotaph National War Memorial in central London on Sunday to honour the sacrifice of war heroes who gave their lives in service of the nation.
LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 12: King Charles III lays his wreath at the Cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday on November 12, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Richard Pohle – WPA Pool/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 12: King Charles III followed by Britain’s Prince William, Prince of Wales (L), arrives to attend the National Service of Remembrance at The Cenotaph on November 12, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Henry Nicholls – WPA Pool/Getty Images)
The heir to the Throne, William, Prince of Wales, alongside other members of the Royal Family, also laid a wreath during the ceremony. Queen Camilla and Kate, the Princess of Wales, watched the sombre ceremony from a balcony overlooking the proceeding.
LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 12: Queen Camilla and Catherine, Princess of Wales attends the National Service of Remembrance at The Cenotaph on November 12, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Karwai Tang/WireImage)
As is customary, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and the opposition leader Sir Keir Starmer also laid wreaths at the Cenotaph.
LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 12: Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, second right, holds a wreath as he stands with Labour Party leader Keir Starmer, left, former Prime Ministers Liz Truss, third right, and Boris Johnson, right, to attend the Remembrance Sunday ceremony at the Cenotaph on November 12, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Kin Cheung – WPA Pool/Getty Images)
The Royal Family and leading politicians were joined by some 10,000 British war veterans and 800 active members of the military, who marched from the Houses of Parliament to the Cenotaph where they also laid wreaths to commemorate their fallen comrades.
LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 12: Veterans carry a wreath as they attend the Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph on November 12, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Kin Cheung – WPA Pool/Getty Images)
Veterans arriving at the Saluting Base in Horse Guards during the Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph, in Whitehall, London. Picture date: Sunday November 12, 2023. (Photo by Victoria Jones/PA Images via Getty Images)
Over 300 Armed Forces and civilian groups were represented in the march, including 100-year-old veterans of the Second World War and children as young as eight.
The ceremony marked the 70th anniversary of the end of fighting in the Korean War as well as two decades after the United Kingdom joined the American-led war in Iraq.
LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 12: Veterans march during the Remembrance Sunday ceremony at the Cenotaph on Whitehall on November 12, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Richard Pohle – WPA Pool/Getty Images)
Wreaths left at the Cenotaph, in Whitehall, London following the Remembrance Sunday service. Picture date: Sunday November 12, 2023. (Photo by Aaron Chown/PA Images via Getty Images)
King Charles III salutes after laying a wreath at the Cenotaph in London during the Remembrance Sunday service. Picture date: Sunday November 12, 2023. (Photo by Stefan Rousseau/PA Images via Getty Images)
The commemoration is celebrated on the Sunday following Armistice Day, marking the end of the First World War. This year, an estimated 300,000 people defied calls to remain home to protest on Armistice Day in London against Israel.
The pro-Palestine demonstration was the largest of its kind and saw numerous instances of antisemitism, including placards featuring swastikas and comparisons of the conflict in Gaza to the Holocaust during World War II.
Veterans march during the Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph, in Whitehall, London. Picture date: Sunday November 12, 2023. (Photo by Victoria Jones/PA Images via Getty Images)
“Recent events have served as a stark reminder that we cannot take the hard-earned peace we live in for granted, which is why I am honoured to lay a wreath on behalf of the nation in the memory of all those that have lost their lives defending our country and the values we hold so close,” Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said.
“I am determined to ensure we never forget the ultimate sacrifice they have made,” he added.