A moment of stillness for Royal Family and veterans

King Charles led the annual Remembrance Sunday commemorations by laying a wreath at the solemn ceremony at the Cenotaph in Whitehall, central London.

As the autumn leaves fell, he was joined by other members of the Royal Family, senior politicians and dignitaries to observe a two-minute silence.

But among the 10,000 veterans marching, there were only 20 who had served in World War II; six of whom were now 101 years old.

For the last survivors of the conflict, it was a living memory rather than a history lesson.

They received warm applause from the crowd, many of them now in wheelchairs and aware that they were seeing history slowly fade away.

101-year-old Sid Machin says this has been an “emotional year”, remembering those who served with him in the Far East. This summer saw events in Europe and the Far East celebrating the 80th anniversary of VE Day and VJ Day, marking the end of the Second World War.

“I will be thinking of all those I served with, especially those who were unable to return home,” he said.

Donald Poole, also 101, who served in the Royal Army Ordnance Corps, wanted to “remember the poor souls who have died in all the conflicts and know how lucky I am to still be here”.

While others lined up to thank his generation, he also thanked the civil services, “especially the fire brigade, which saved so many lives during the Blitz.”

It was a reminder that the memorial service at the Cenotaph brings together veterans as well as representatives of other types of service.

There were police, firefighters, ambulance personnel, transport workers and coastguards laying wreaths and marching.

The memorial service is a time to pause in a noisy world. There is two minutes of silence and then the Last Post is played by a bugler, echoing through Westminster instead of the usual roar of traffic.

The scandals surrounding the king’s brother Andrew have been a roaring storm in recent weeks, but this was a moment of silence and serenity.

It is a ceremony to preserve the faith in previous generations. Wearing a field marshal’s uniform, the King laid a wreath containing 41 paper poppies on an arrangement of black leaves, identical to the wreaths his grandfather George VI once laid there.

Both would be faced with the same message (Glorious Dead) engraved on the Cenotaph, in the same place.

King Charles’ uniform still bears the image of his mother, Charles II. Elizabeth has the password.

What was he thinking in that great silence?

Prince of Wales, We’re back after presenting the Earthshot environmental award in BrazilHe attended the wreath-laying ceremony with his father.

Queen Camilla and the Princess of Wales looked down from the Foreign Office balcony.

More than 20 different faith groups were represented around the plain stone of the Cenotaph; Military uniforms were mixed with clergy clothes.

Sarah Mullally, who will be the first female Archbishop of Canterbury, gave a reading before the hymn.

And like the ghosts of Christmas past, eight former Prime Ministers were also lined up. Sir John Major is now the elder statesman among them.

Incumbent Sir Keir Starmer said of the moment: “We remember a generation who stood up to oppression and shaped our future. Their legacy is peace and it is our duty to preserve it.”

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch stepped forward with a wreath.

In perhaps an unlikely connection, Prince William was standing next to former Prime Minister Gordon Brown. The two are currently working together on a homelessness project. He recently shared a different scene in Sheffield talking about tackling poverty.

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper and Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood laid wreaths on behalf of intelligence agencies MI5, MI6 and GCHQ.

The current military threats and conflicts were also reminded with the Ukrainian flag flying over the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building as the veterans passed.

But on this balmy November morning, there was no escaping the feeling of time passing, as well as the realization that this would be among the last major anniversaries in which World War II veterans would attend.

Last year there were six veterans from the D-Day landings in 1944, this year there were three.

“We reflect on the bravery and sacrifice of the Second World War generation, recognizing that this is one of the nation’s last opportunities to recognise, thank and honor the few veterans who are still with us today,” said Philippa Rawlinson, Director of Commemoration at the Royal British Legion.