Royal Family News
Somba Remembrance Sunday: Princess Catherine and Queen Consort Camilla Attend Emotional Ceremony
Two of the most prominent members of the British royal family, Princess Catherine and Queen Consort Camilla, attended the Somba Remembrance Sunday ceremony earlier today.
This was the first such ceremony to be held since the passing of Queen Elizabeth II.
The two royal ladies were seen on the balcony of the Foreign Office, watching as their husbands laid wreaths at the cenotaph in honor of the country's fallen soldiers.
Princess Catherine and Queen Consort Camilla wore elegant coats and hats, with poppies pinned to them, as well as diamond brooches.
Catherine looked close to tears at one point during the proceedings.
Camilla wore the same black hat that she wore to the Queen's funeral in September.
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In a touching gesture to Queen Elizabeth II, they took a poignant empty space on the balcony where the late monarch had stood to watch the emotional service in previous years when her eldest son Charles, then Prince of Wales, would lay a wreath on her behalf.
Today's Remembrance Day service saw the royals out in force, with Charles leading the country at the cenotaph for the first time as king.
In remembrance of his late mother and grandfather, George VI, he laid a fresh poppy wreath at the service that had a ribbon in his racing colors.
Big Ben, which had been out of commission for years due to maintenance and repairs, chimed eleven times at eleven o'clock.
Members of the royal family, including the Prince and Princess of Wales and Princess Anne, attended a touching event on Friday to remember the late Queen and her dedication to war veterans.
The 4th Battalion of Highlanders, Scottish soldiers of the UK's armed services, played bagpipes and drums at roughly 10.40am, pausing the march past the cenotaph.
The military procession was called to order at 10.58am when King Charles III arrived.
A solemn stillness descended upon the gathering as Big Ben rang eleven times to signal the beginning of the two minutes of silence.
Military personnel performed the last post as an emotional remembrance of those lost throughout the conflicts of the twentieth century, following the two minutes of prayers and reflection.
Following that, King Charles III presented the nation with a national salute and laid a wreath at the cenotaph on behalf of Her Majesty the Queen Consort.
The Prince of Wales then went on to lay his wreath, which included the heir apparent's feathers.
His father had already set this wreath.
The wreath, which is decorated in the Prince of Wales's colors, also sports a brand new Welsh red ribbon.
The Earl of Wessex and Princess Royal then laid a wreath, before one was laid on behalf of the Duke of Kent.
The military parade then stood at ease as music played and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer led the rest of the wreath laying.
Many members of the Royal Family were in attendance this morning, including the Prince and Princess of Wales, Princess Anne, Prince Edward, and the Countess of Wessex.
Remembrance Sunday is one of the most significant events in the Royal Calendar, according to the late Queen, who passed away nine weeks ago at the age of 96.
In 1945, when she was still a princess, she made her first wreath laying at the Cenotaph.
The Queen, who had the longest tenure in the country, was in charge of the armed forces and was a teenager during the Second World War.
She only missed seven Cenotaph services during her reign, including one in 2021 because of a back sprain.