London
CNN
—
King Charles III is leading Britain’s annual Remembrance Sunday service for the first time as monarch.
The King is attending the service alongside 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 its ribbon bears the King’s racing colors of scarlet, purple and gold.
Camilla viewed the moment from the balcony of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. A wreath was laid on her behalf for the first time.
The King and Queen Consort’s wreaths were accompanied by handwritten cards bearing their new cyphers.
A national two-minute silence was held at 11 a.m. local time (6 a.m. ET), marked by the tolling of Big Ben – which has now officially returned to 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.
The event Sunday also featured a march past by some 10,000 Royal British Legion veterans, including World War Two veterans and those who have served in conflicts since.
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 have died in conflicts.
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. A video tribute was paid to Queen Elizabeth in the course of the event, which also commemorated 40 years since the Falklands war.
Charles, 73, became Britain’s monarch following the death of his mother in September. His coronation has been scheduled for next May to allow time to mourn Elizabeth’s death and to plan the ceremony.
