Remembrance Sunday commemorates the contribution of British and Commonwealth military and civilian servicemen and women in the two World Wars and later conflicts. It is held on the second Sunday in November (the Sunday nearest to 11 November, Armistice Day, the anniversary of the end of hostilities in World War I in 1918).
Sacrifice for the country may be something that is alien to much of the youth of today, but in the past there was camaraderie, bravery, honour and service in protecting the realm.
Today, King Charles will be joined at the National Service of Remembrance by other members of the Royal Family, including the Prince and Princess of Wales.
The King will lay the first wreath on behalf of the UK at the Cenotaph. He will be followed by Prince William and Princess Anne, then Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and the country’s other political leaders.
Members of the armed forces, including veterans of World War II, will then lay their wreaths.
Services will be held in almost every town and city across the UK – with some of the biggest gatherings expected in Belfast, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Plymouth, Liverpool and Manchester.
The Princess of Wales will be watching on from the balcony of the Foreign Office.
Veterans have spent the morning gathering near the Guards Memorial on the Horse Guards Parade ahead of the Royal British Legion’s March Past the Cenotaph, ahead of the March Past the Cenotaph.
The two-minute silence will begin at 11:00 when Big Ben will chime to signal the start of the two-minute silence. A cannon blast from the Horse Guards Parade, accompanied by a bugler playing the Last Post, will mark its conclusion.
Armistice Day will follow on Monday, commemorating those who died in the Great War, World War I.
