Britainupdated 21m ago3 min read
Archive photo · 25 November 2022King Charles III Leads Royal Family at Festival of Remembrance in London
3 Western Mainstream2 Other1 Western Alternative1 Western TabloidPhoto: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cropped for layout
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
King Charles III led senior royals at the Festival of Remembrance at Royal Albert Hall. Princess of Wales attended with Prince William and wore earrings owned by Queen Elizabeth II.
Save coverage image
7 outlets in this story. Read their headlines below.
Outlets did split on Gaza Government Media Office Demands Britain Apologize for Balfour Declaration on 109th Anniversary →
Festival at Royal Albert Hall
King Charles III led senior members of the Royal Family at the Festival of Remembrance at London’s Royal Albert Hall, with the Prince of Wales and Catherine, Princess of Wales joining the King and Queen Camilla on the eve of Remembrance Sunday. The King will lead the nation in two minutes of silence on Sunday to remember those who died serving in the two world wars and other conflicts, and the King will be joined by other senior royals and political leaders at the annual National Service of Remembrance ceremony at the Cenotaph in central London where they will lay wreaths. The Royal British Legion’s festival was broadcast on BBC One at 21:00 and was hosted by Clive Myrie, with performances including musicians such as Alfie Boe and Mica Paris.
The Royal British Legion’s march-past will include some 10,000 veterans representing more than 300 different armed forces and civilian organisations, and the event marks the 35th anniversary of the end of the First Gulf War and 15 years since the conclusion of British military operations in Iraq under Operation Telic. Events will take place around the country to mark Remembrance Sunday, which is observed on the closest Sunday to Armistice Day on 11 November, when World War One ended in 1918.
Letters, veterans, and leaders
The Prince and Princess of Wales joined King Charles and Queen Camilla at the Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall in London on Saturday evening to honour the sacrifice and service of the British and Commonwealth Armed Forces. Lt Col Caroline Whittaker told The Telegraph that her letters provide a snapshot of her experience as a director of nursing, working in a field hospital in the early months of war, and she said: "Remembrance is not about glorifying war, it’s about honouring service, sacrifice, duty, and love of others." Blueys, distinctive light-blue airmails sent home from conflict zones, were read out at the festival, including letters from Lt Col Whittaker sent during her service in the Iraq War.
Heidi Maguire told The Telegraph before the event that her brother sacrificed his life for this country and she said: "It’s wonderful to be meeting other families and telling their stories." The festival comes before Remembrance Sunday, when the Royal family will attend the annual service at the Cenotaph, where Prince William and other senior royals will lay wreaths and watch hundreds of veterans march past the war memorial.
What the anniversary marks
This year’s festival marks the 35th anniversary of the end of the First Gulf War and 15 years since the conclusion of British military operations in Iraq under Operation Telic, with veterans sharing their personal stories and experiences of the conflicts. Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Defence Secretary Wes Streeting were present, and Burnham told reporters: "Remembrance Sunday gives us an opportunity, not only to mark that sacrifice and offer our gratitude, but also to reflect on its significance." King Charles III and Queen Camilla were joined in the royal box by the Prince and Princess of Wales, the Princess Royal and Sir Timothy Laurence, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester.
Queen Camilla wore a pair of diamond snowflake earrings and secured a trio of paper poppies with a major diamond brooch in the shape of a clematis flower, while the Princess of Wales arrived wearing a black-and-white polka dot dress and diamond frame earrings loaned by the late Queen Elizabeth II. Kate has been Colonel of the Irish Guards since December 2022 and she used her Irish Guards regimental brooch to secure a silk poppy to her dress, as the festival’s remembrance weekend continued.