Thousands gathered in Whitehall today for the annual Remembrance Sunday service. 

Today was historic, as it was the first Remembrance Sunday without Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, who considered it one of the most important dates on her calendar. Below, HM at the 2020 service. She was unable to attend last year’s service because of a back strain.

More from this BBC News story

Much was the same here today as in decades past; the music, the flags, the prayers, wreath upon wreath of poppies blazing red against grey stone.

But one thing was different and that difference was on the minds of many; the King led this ceremony, a ceremony so close to the heart of the late Queen and one which she attended into her nineties.

A video from the BBC’s coverage of today’s service. 

There was some shifting of places for royals watching from the balconies at the FCDO (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) Building. You can just see (left to right) the Gloucesters and the Countess of Wessex on the left, the Queen Consort and Princess of Wales in the center, and the Duke of Kent and Vice-Admiral Sir Tim Laurence on the far right. 

Additional thoughts on this year’s service via The Evening Standard’s story

Chief of the Defence Staff, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, said there is a “special poignancy” to Remembrance Sunday this year given the Queen’s death and the war in Ukraine. In an interview broadcast on Sky’s Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme, he 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 provide our freedom today.”

“I think there’s a special poignancy this year with both the loss of Her Majesty, another loss of a Second World War veteran.”

The new Queen Consort and new Princess of Wales.

The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and the Countess of Wessex. 

Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence and the Duke of Kent. 

Another view of the Queen Consort and Princess of Wales. 

A view of the scene at the Cenotaph from above.

More on the event’s origins from the Royal British Legion

The first Remembrance Parade took place in Whitehall on 19 July 1919 – the Cenotaph then being a temporary wood and plaster construction. In his message to the people of the Empire on 6 November 1919, King George V requested that a Two Minute Silence be observed at the 11th hour of the 11th month.

Below, crowds gathered for today’s service.

“In a ceremony at the Cenotaph, the focal point of the nation’s homage, Members of the Royal Family unite with others in thousands of similar ceremonies across the UK and worldwide in holding two minutes of silence at 11am,” per the Royal Family site. 

Below, King Charles leads the family contingent out to the Cenotaph. Behind the King, Prince William, Prince Edward, and Princess Anne.

Another view.

The King and his sister at the foot of the Cenotaph, the war memorial located in Whitehall, London. (Cenotaph means “empty tomb.)

Ahead of today’s service, the Royal Family posted on social media about the wreath-laying tradition. 

The King places his wreath at the foot of the monument.

Hello reports it is made with “…poppies mounted on an arrangement of black leaves, as is traditional for the sovereign, with the ribbon bearing the King’s racing colours of scarlet, purple and gold.” A closer look at the card which says, “In Memory of the Glorious Dead, Charles R.” 

A video. 

Per Buckingham Palace, the Queen Consort’s wreath bore “Her Majesty’s racing colours, inherited from her grandfather, and echoes the wreath of the previous Queen Consort, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.” More about the wreath laid by the new Prince of Wales from this Town and Country story

Prince William, now the Prince of Wales, laid the wreath previously used by his father featuring the Prince of Wales feathers and with a new ribbon in Welsh red. He laid the wreath as the Princess of Wales watched from the balcony.

Prince William returns to the formation after laying his wreath. 

The Princess of Wales watching the service. 

Prince Edward. 


 Princess Anne after she placed her wreath at the Cenotaph. 

Among the former Prime Ministers in attendance, Gordon Brown and Tony Blair. 

As well as Liz Truss, Boris Johnson, and Theresa May. 

The current Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak (r), is seen here with Labour Party Leader Sir Keir Starmer (l).

Among those watching from the FCDO (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) Building, Sir Tony Blair’s wife Cherie Blair (left), British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s wife Akshata Murty (2nd from the left), British former Prime Minister Liz Truss’ husband Hugh O’Leary (2nd from the right), and former Prime Minister Theresa May’s husband Philip May (right). 

Another view of the Queen Consort and Princess of Wales. 

After the service concludes, it is time for the Royal British Legion march past. This includes close to 10,000 veterans. 

This is a tradition of every Remembrance Sunday. Below, Chelsea Pensioners.  

Some of the Pensioners gathering before the march past. 

Many bring wreaths to be laid at the Cenotaph. 

The Royal British Legion reports, “One of the oldest marching veterans this year is 101-year-old WW2 D-Day Veteran Stanley Elliss who is marching for the first time, and the youngest is Luca-Beau, eight, who will be carrying a wreath on behalf of Scotty’s Little Soldiers and remembering her father.”

In this photo, you see 99-year-old D-Day veteran Joe Cattini. Some of you may remember meeting Joe in yesterday’s post when we showed him visiting the Fields of Remembrance at Westminster Abbey. 

There were about 300 different Armed Forces and civilian associations taking part in today’s march.

The route goes from Whitehall, south towards Parliament Square then turns right into Great George Street and right again into Horse Guards Road.

This look like a service dog in training being very well-behaved.

And a reward for the good boy or girl.

It was a sea of faces and uniforms. 

The route ends at Horse Guards Parade, where Prince Edward was on hand to take the salute. On the left, you see the UK Secretary of State for Defence, Ben Wallace. On the right, the President of the Royal British Legion, Lieutenant General James Bashall. 

A 1:30 video from the BBC as the final marchers pass the Cenotaph. 

And once again this year, Black Cab drivers are providing free rides to veterans.  More from Taxi Point UK

Hundreds of London Cab drivers will volunteer their spare time to support the free Poppy Cabs Service, which transports veterans around the Capital to attend services at The Cenotaph and participate in the Remembrance Sunday Parade

Poppy Cabs is funded entirely by the drivers, often accompanied by family and friends as helpers, who provide their taxis free of charge.

This video shows some of the cabs. 

Now for our look at what the Princess of Wales wore for today’s solemn service.  

The Princess appeared to be wearing the ‘Evie’ design by Catherine Walker, with thanks to WKW reader Irène for the ID tip. The piece is described as “a military-style coatdress with diagonal pintuck details across the chest and shoulder.” 

 

This view offers a more detailed view. 

The Princess may have worn a Philip Treacy hat. 

 

It looks like a version of this Philip Treacy design done in black with some modifications, like a much bigger brim and the removal of the velvet bow on the side. Thank you to UFO No More for this ID.  

 

The gloves won by the Princess look like one of her Cornelia James pairs, likely the Beatrice of the Imogen, but I don’t have photos that really show detail. 
I will contact Cornelia James for confirmation.  UPDATE NOV 15: Cornelia James tell me they believe the Princess was wearing their Alice Merino Wool Gloves ($187).

 

The Princess brought back the pearl and diamond earrings that belonged to Diana, Princess of Wales. 

 

First worn to the 2019 BAFTA Awards (seen below), the earrings feature diamonds in a mix of cuts, with a cluster of marquise-cut stones in the center. The Princess wears them with slightly smaller pearls than those worn by Diana.

 

It appears the Princess of Wales wore a new brooch today, an art deco design. With thanks to UFO No More for the excellent detective work, the piece is a 1920s-era diamond and platinum design sold by Bentley and Skinner.

The Art Deco Diamond-Set Brooch is an openworked design featuring round and baguette-cut diamonds with a round brilliant-cut diamond in the center. The piece is described as “a classically Art Deco design, with geometric shapes and fine openwork platinum set throughout with lively diamonds. This beautiful piece was made in around 1920 and captures the glamour and elegance of the Jazz Age.” Located in Mayfair, Bentley and Skinner is a Royal Warrant holder specializing in vintage and antique jewelry. 

The Princess wore three paper poppies. The following is from a Remembrance post a few years back, but it still applies: “There is always speculation about the number of poppies worn by the Duchess and any significance attached to that number. Here is a theory many have suggested as detailed in this Grazia story

Some theories suggest each poppy stands for a different branch of the military. Others say that it’s just easier to see a large clump of flowers than a singular one. And a third theory speculates that she might wear the poppy trio to honor her great-grandmother’s three brothers who died during World War I.”

The Princess carried her suede Mulberry clutch again, shown below as carried to another event. 

Today I had a couple of questions about the late Queen’s cipher still being used on military uniforms. More from Gordan Rayner’s Telegraph piece

All members of the Armed Forces on parade at the Cenotaph wore the initials of the late Queen, including the King himself and other members of the Royal family. At next year’s Cenotaph service, and for years to come, some military personnel will be wearing the King’s cypher while others will still be wearing the late Queen’s. 

A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said that the switch to the King’s cypher will be a gradual one, with individual regiments and other military units introducing it in their own time.

Below, closeups from today’s service showing the cipher on the King’s uniform (l), Prince William’s uniform (c), and the portion of the King’s new cipher that will eventually be seen on uniforms. 

More from The Telegraph story

King Charles, who famously abhors waste, appears to be in no hurry to replace his late mother’s cypher on his own uniform. At the Cenotaph Queen Elizabeth’s initials featured on the epaulettes of the overcoat that he wore as part of his Field Marshal’s uniform, and a spokesman for the King said that no decision had yet been taken on when changes to his uniforms would be made.

I’ll close with one more photo of the Princess today.

NOTE: We have a workaround for the problem of not being able to click on the ‘comments’ word shown at the very top with the number of comments. On the left, beneath the very first photo, you’ll see “READ COMMENTS.” Click this link, and you’ll be taken to the most recent comments. You will need to scroll up to see them in order, but at least this significantly minimizes the scrolling required to get to the comment area.     

VIDEOS

The BBC offers about 4 minutes of coverage here, including the 2-minute silence. 

The Royal Family Channel has more than 5 minutes of coverage in this video. 

 

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