King Charles III Leads First Remembrance Sunday As King

Charles III is to take part in his first Remembrance Sunday event as king, laying a wreath in tribute to UK and Commonwealth war dead, as Britain’s new prime minister also lauds Ukraine’s defenders.

The 73-year-old monarch had previously deputized for his mother Queen Elizabeth II, who died in September aged 96 after a year of failing health.

Since 2017, she had watched the annual service from a balcony of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) overlooking the Cenotaph.

Last year a back complaint forced her to miss the ceremony in central London, just weeks after an unscheduled overnight stay in hospital.

Charles, who served in the Royal Navy in the 1970s, laid a wreath on her behalf.

Now king and commander-in-chief of British forces, he will lay his first wreath at the war memorial as reigning monarch.

The ring of red artificial poppies — Britain’s symbol of remembrance — is mounted on black leaves, with a ribbon in the king’s scarlet, purple and gold horse-racing colors.

Buckingham Palace said a similar wreath would be laid on behalf of his wife, Queen Consort Camilla, for the first time.

Camilla, 75, will watch the event from the FCDO balcony.

Two minutes’ silence marks the start of the sombre tribute. It begins on the stroke of 1100 GMT with the distinctive chime of Big Ben, which returns to regular service after a five-year renovation.