Remembrance Sunday: Nation honours war dead
Written by News on 12/11/2017
Millions of people are expected to honour Britain’s war dead as Remembrance Day commemorations take place across the country.
A two-minute silence will take place at 11am and wreaths will be laid at memorials.
The Queen will break with tradition and not lay the head of state’s wreath at the Cenotaph during the Whitehall memorial service, with Prince Charles carrying out her duties instead.
Placing the wreath at the base of the Whitehall monument requires the monarch, who is 91, to walk backwards down the stone steps.
Instead, the Queen will stand with the Duke of Edinburgh on a Foreign Office balcony to observe the service.
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Sky’s Royal Correspondent Rhiannon Mills said: "Some have described this as the most significant handover of royal responsibilities to the heir to the throne that we have seen so far – and it is a big break with tradition.
"However, the Royal Family would not want it to distract from the true meaning of the day."
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Buckingham Palace announced the change last month.
Earlier this year, Prince 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, 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 monarch was in South Africa in 1999 she laid a wreath at the Cenotaph in Durban.
On Saturday, 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.
(c) Sky News 2017: Remembrance Sunday: Nation honours war dead
