Remembrance Sunday in Photos: UK Falls Silent as King Leads Tributes to War Dead

In his Royal Navy uniform, Admiral of the Fleet King Charles III saluted the Cenotaph and led the nation’s tributes to the fallen.

Around 10,000 veterans proudly marched past the Cenotaph with relatives and members of the public applauding them from the sidelines.

The red poppy symbolises remembrance and honours military personnel who have died in wars, inspired by the resilient poppies that grew on battlefields after World War I, as depicted in the poem In Flanders Fields.

Sir Keir Starmer and Lord David Cameron looked on as the King laid the wreath.

The King was followed by Prince William in laying the wreath.

Veterans–many of them having been stationed abroad and assigned combat duties–marching in lockstep.

As they marched, each group of veterans handed over a wreath for Scouts to lay by the Cenotaph.

Leader of the Opposition Kemi Badenoch laid a wreath after the PM.

The Cenotaph was the centre of the National Service of Remembrance ceremony.

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner and Chancellor Rachel Reeves were amongst the political leaders to pay tributes to the fallen.

Speaker of the House of Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle laid the wreath on behalf of the House.

Veterans marched swiftly by the military cadences from their fellow soldiers.

There was a heavy police presence and participants went through airport-style security, after last year’s Armistice Day saw unrest with far-right protesters clashing at the Cenotaph.

Members of the Royal Marines wearing white helmets, a distinctive part of their ceremonial uniforms.

The Princess of Wales and the Duchess of Edinburgh watching the service.

Royal Navy soldiers lined up along the march.

Lord David Cameron and Gordon Brown were amongst the eight former Prime Ministers in attendance.

Thousands of veterans beginning to line up at 10:00, an hour before the ceremony commenced.

Regular and reserve members of the armed forces guarding the ceremony.

Last Sunday, King Charles led the nation in commemorating the soldiers and civilians who died serving in the two World Wars and other conflicts.

Tens of thousands of veterans and members of the public joined the King to observe a two-minute silence for the fallen at the Cenotaph at 11am. The Armistice Day on November 11 is the anniversary of the end of hostilities in World War I, with the Sunday nearest therefore known as Remembrance Sunday.

Followed by the Prince of Wales, The King laid the first wreath on behalf of the nation and saluted before Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, Leader of the Opposition Kemi Badenoch and other political leaders paid their tributes.

Dressed in their bespoke ceremonial uniforms, around 10,000 veterans from 326 armed forces and civil groups then marched past the Cenotaph in Whitehall, Central London, much to the crowd’s applause.

Sir Keir’s signed card on the wreath read: “To the immortal memory of those who laid down their lives for us all.”

The annual one-hour National Service of Remembrance also saw the attendance of an unprecedented number of eight former prime ministers, standing side by side, and marked the first time the Princess of Wales undertook commitments on two consecutive days since her cancer diagnosis.

Princess Kate was in high spirits as she watched the ceremony from one of the Foreign Office’s balconies alongside the Duchess of Edinburgh. Reform UK’s leader Nigel Farage, Green Party’s co-leader Carla Denyer and members from the royal family spectated the ceremony from the balconies as well.

Events and ceremonies were held in cities up and down the UK, including Belfast, Manchester, and Nottingham.

With contributions by Jinyi Chen