King Charles and Princess Kate attended a royal Remembrance Sunday event together as they both slowly return to official duties after cancer diagnoses.
Queen Camilla, however, missed the ceremony because of a chest infection, according to the royal family. She also missed a royal event on Saturday.
Charles, 75, led the ceremony at the Cenotaph, Britain’s war memorial in London honoring the nation’s war dead dating back to World War II. He placed a wreath at the foot of the monument and led a two-minute honorary silence.
AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali
Britain’s King Charles III, center, with Prince William, left, and Princess Anne attend the Remembrance Sunday Service at the Cenotaph in London, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)
Remembrance Sunday is a major event for the royal family and U.K. leaders, and the ceremony at the Cenotaph was attended by all working royals and Prime Minister Keir Starmer, along with his eight living predecessors.
While Prince William also left a floral tribute, Princess Kate looked on from a balcony at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, as is traditional. Camilla would have been next to Kate if she was in attendance, but instead Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh — Prince Edward’s wife — sat next to her.
Sunday was the first time Kate has attended royal events on back-to-back days since her cancer diagnosis earlier this year. On Saturday she attended the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall.
AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali
Veterans line up as they attend the Remembrance Sunday Service at the Cenotaph in London, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)
After the wreath-laying procession, about 10,000 veterans marched past the Cenotaph. Many were from recent wars, including in Iraq and Afghanistan, though a few World War II vets were on hand.
“It’s always a great honor to be back on occasions like this, but I remember the guys that never came home on my ship when it was torpedoed,” Stan Ford, 99-year-old survivor of the sinking of the HMS Fratton in August 1944 told The Associated Press. “I always feel it’s my duty to put in an appearance and thank God for those that did survive, and to pray for the ones who didn’t.”
With News Wire Services
