Queen Elizabeth led a ceremony yesterday to remember those killed and wounded in conflict, with many in Britain marking it at home after the service was scaled back to comply with coronavirus restrictions.
With the service closed to the public, members of the royal family, politicians and veterans marked the annual Remembrance Sunday standing far apart as they observed a two-minute silence.
Prince Charles, Prince William, Prime Minister Boris Johnson and others laid wreaths at the Cenotaph in London’s Whitehall as the Queen watched from a balcony at the nearby Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office building.
Usually thousands of people travel from across the country to watch the ceremony but the growing spread of the coronavirus put paid to that.
Also missing was Prince Harry, who stepped down as a working member of the royal family and now lives in the US, but he used a podcast to mark the day.
“Remembrance day for me is a moment for respect and for hope. Respect for those who came before us and hope for a safer world,” he said. “The act of remembrance is a profound act of honour.”
“We come together every November to commemorate the servicemen and women from Britain and the Commonwealth who sacrificed their lives for our freedom,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson said ahead of the ceremony.
“In this time of adversity, no virus can stop us from honouring their memory, particularly when we have just celebrated the 75th anniversary of victory in World War II. “And in times of trial, our tributes matter even more.”
This year, after Black Lives Matter protests spread to Britain from the US, Johnson also called for greater acknowledgement of the role of black and Asian troops in World War II.