Queen Elizabeth II placed a wreath of 90 poppies at the Cenotaph on Sunday as thousands joined Prince Charles and Princess Anne for a particularly poignant Remembrance Day ceremony. And despite bitterly cold temperatures, the Queen Mother stood throughout the tribute out of respect for those lost in battle, including her beloved brother Fergus who was killed at Loos in 1915 during the First World War.
Just before 11am, soldiers representing the Armed Forces came to attention outside Whitehall. Members of the royal family emerged shortly thereafter from the Foreign Office to stand before the memorial to the Glorious Dead for two minutes of silence. Prime Minister Tony Blair, who last week met with US President George W Bush to discuss the crisis in terrorism, was the first politician to place a wreath at the statue.
Spectators and war heroes alike marched in what proved to be a moving ceremony in the wake of the recent attacks in the US and the battles currently raging in Afghanistan. And, further weighing on the hearts and minds of those in attendance, Remembrance Sunday and Armistice Day coincided – a first since 1990.
The US ambassador in London, William Farrish, was invited to participate in the march this year for the first time in the ceremony’s history. New York Fire Chief Joe Callan, who had been briefly trapped in the World Trade Center on that fateful day and lost 343 of his men in the rubble, also joined British veterans of the London Blitz in the procession two months to the day since the attacks.
“It’s a very poignant ceremony because of what happened on September 11,” said Callan, who was in England as a guest of the Fire Service College at Moreton–in–Marsh, Gloucestershire. “I’ve never felt such warmth and energy. It’s just an honour to be allowed to march with veterans of your country – you all have so much pride.”
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
