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The Queen watched the Remembrance Sunday service for the first time from her balcony as Prince Charles laid her wreath

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Remembrance Sunday memorial

  • The Royal Family, senior politicians, including the British prime minister and representatives from the armed forces paid tribute to those who have suffered or died at war on November 12, 2017.
  • The Queen asked Prince Charles to lay her wreath at the Cenotaph instead of performing the symbolic duty herself.
  • The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh watched the moving service from a nearby balcony.
  • Charles has laid a wreath once before on behalf of the Queen, in 1983 when she was out of the country.


The nation paid silent respect to those killed in the country’s wars in a Remembrance Sunday service led by the Prince of Wales.

The Queen asked Charles to lay her wreath at the Cenotaph, in what is believed to be the first time the monarch has broken with tradition and not performed the symbolic duty when at the Whitehall service.

Spectators, service men and women, senior royals and politicians stood for a two-minute silence at 11 a.m. as wreaths were laid at the foot of the Whitehall memorial.

The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh watched the moving service from a nearby balcony.

Former prime ministers Tony Blair, David Cameron, and Gordon Brown attended, alongside Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, Lib Dem leader Vince Cable, Home Secretary Amber Rudd, and Prime Minister Theresa May.

All were dressed in sombre black outfits, adorned with the red poppy.

The service was guarded by armed police and the Met confirmed it would be using facial recognition software to track crowds gathered to watch. 

The force said this was part of an ongoing trial and not related to a specific threat.

Prince Charles Remembrance Day

The Centotaph ceremony is a poignant and significant event in the life of the nation which normally involves the Queen leading the country in remembering those who have died in world wars and other conflicts, so Charles' role in laying the wreath will be a significant moment.

Buckingham Palace announced the change last month, which is seen as an example of the subtle shift of head of state duties from the Queen to the heir to the throne.

Queen Elizabeth II

Earlier this year, Philip, 96, retired from his solo public duties, but on occasion has joined the Queen at her official engagements. Philip's equerry will lay his wreath, Buckingham Palace has said, while Charles will also lay his own wreath. 

Charles has laid a wreath before on behalf of the Queen, in 1983 when she was out of the country, and when the Queen was in South Africa in 1999 she laid a wreath at the Cenotaph in Durban. 

Prince Charles Remembrance Day 2017

The Queen is expected to be joined by other royal women such as the Duchess of Cambridge, Duchess of Cornwall and the Countess of Wessex, in observing the service. 

On Saturday night, the Queen and senior royals joined servicemen and women past and present at the annual Festival of Remembrance as the nation remembered its war dead on Armistice Day.

The monarch was joined at the Royal Albert Hall in London by thousands of veterans for the 90th anniversary of the event, organised by the Royal British Legion, of which she is patron.

Among the acts performing were singers Mel C, Emeli Sande, Tom Odell, Lesley Garrett and Alfie Boe, alongside hymns, prayers, and readings.

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