King Charles III leads Remembrance Sunday at the Cenotaph

LONDON — King Charles III led Britain’s national Remembrance Sunday ceremony at the Cenotaph in central London on Sunday, under clear November skies and with the nearly four‑year war in Ukraine casting a shadow over Europe.

As Big Ben tolled 11 a.m., thousands of military personnel, veterans and members of the public fell silent for two minutes. The pause was broken only by a single artillery salute and Royal Marines buglers sounding "The Last Post."

The 76‑year‑old king, wearing the uniform of an army field marshal, laid a wreath of red paper poppies on a black backing at the base of the Cenotaph war memorial. Erected more than a century ago to honour British and allied troops killed in World War I, the Cenotaph has become the focal point for national ceremonies remembering military and civilian service members lost in that conflict and in later wars.

A military band played as Prince William, the heir to the throne, followed his father and placed his own wreath on the plain Portland stone monument, which bears the inscription "the glorious dead." Other members of the royal family also took part in the ceremony, including the king's youngest brother, Prince Edward.

Prince Andrew did not take part. The king removed Andrew's royal titles and, last month, evicted him from a royal residence amid fallout over his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein; he now uses the surname Andrew Mountbatten Windsor.

Wreaths were also laid by Prime Minister Keir Starmer, other political leaders and diplomats representing nations across the Commonwealth. Queen Camilla, the Princess of Wales and other royals watched from their customary vantage on a balcony of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

Many wreaths were formed from poppies, and most attendees wore paper poppies on their lapels. The scarlet flowers that once bloomed on muddy battlefields and makeshift graves in northern France and Belgium during World War I — immortalised in the poem "In Flanders Fields" — remain a powerful symbol of remembrance in Britain and beyond.

In a wider security context, Britain has boosted defence spending since Russia’s full‑scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022; the government says defence expenditure will rise to 3.5% of GDP by 2035.

After the wreath‑laying, roughly 10,000 military veterans, many wearing gleaming medals, marched past the Cenotaph to jaunty military music amid applause from onlookers. About 20 of the handful of remaining World War II veterans participated, some in wheelchairs; the youngest in that group was 98 years old.

"I know how lucky I am to still be here thanks to all those who have fought and served, past and present," said Donald Poole, 101, a former Royal Army Ordnance Corps explosives handler who served in the conflict that ended 80 years ago. "I also want to pay tribute to the civilian services who suffered during the Second World War, particularly the fire service, who saved so many lives during the Blitz — many of whom lost their own."

The ceremony combined solemn remembrance with public gratitude for the service and sacrifice of military and civilian personnel across generations.