As Remembrance Week gets underway, the Royal Family will lead tributes around the United Kingdom to those who have given their lives for their country in armed conflict. Remembrance Day takes place on the second Sunday in November, and this year it falls on November 11th, the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War. Commemorations for that anniversary, as well as acts of remembrance for all those killed and injured in armed conflict, will take place in the coming days.
On November 8th, the Duke of Sussex will visit the Field of Remembrance at Westminster Abbey. Thousands of wooden symbols bearing poppies have been planted there to remember those killed in war and Prince Harry is expected to add his own tribute during his visit. It is organised by the Royal British Legion and is one of six remembrance fields set up across the UK in November.
On Saturday, November 10th, the Queen will lead the Royal Family at the annual Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall in London. The tribute, featuring music and readings, will also be attended by the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, the Duke of York, the Earl and Countess of Wessex, the Princess Royal, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the Duke of Kent and Prince and Princess Michael of Kent. The festival will feature performances by Sir Tom Jones, Sir Bryn Terfel and the Kingdom Choir.
Remembrance Sunday this year will see many members of the Royal Family attend multiple events as they also mark the centenary of the end of the Great War. The annual Remembrance Day service takes place at the Cenotaph in London on the morning of November 11th. The Queen will participate from a balcony above Whitehall while the Prince of Wales lays her wreath at the Cenotaph for the second year in a row. The Duke of Edinburgh’s tribute will be placed at the monument by an equerry.
The Duke of Cambridge, the Duke of Sussex, the Duke of York, the Earl of Wessex, the Princess Royal, the Duke of Kent and Prince Michael of Kent are all expected to lay wreaths as well during the short service. The Duchess of Cornwall, the Duchess of Cambridge, the Duchess of Sussex, the Countess of Wessex and Princess Michael, will watch from the balconies of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office overlooking the Cenotaph.
Following the ceremony, the Princess Royal will take the salute at the March Past of the Veterans Organisations on Horse Guards Parade. Princess Anne will later attend the Scottish Commemorative Service for the Centenary of the First Armistice which is being held at Glasgow Cathedral. The Duke of York will head to Belfast to pay tribute at the commemorative service being held at St. Anne’s Cathedral to mark the centenary of the end of World War One while the Earl and Countess of Wessex will attend the Welsh National Service of Thanksgiving at Llandaff Cathedral. The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester will go to the National Arboretum in Staffordshire for the Armistice Day service there.
In the evening of Remembrance Sunday, a special service is being held at Westminster Abbey to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of the war that was meant to end all wars. The Queen will be joined by the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the Duke of Kent and Prince and Princess Michael of Kent for this national tribute.
Royal commemorations have already taken place with the Duke of Cambridge, Commodore in Chief of Submarine Service, attending a special ceremony of remembrance in London on Sunday, November 4th 2018. A few days earlier, the Duchess of Cambridge visited the Imperial War Museum in London to see letters written by three of her relatives who were killed in the First World War. And throughout Remembrance week, the Royal Family is also reflecting on the impact of the Great War with a series of posts on its official social media accounts focused on the role the Windsors and their household played during the conflict.
