Queen returns to public eye for Remembrance service after doctors' orders to rest

14 November 2021, 07:47 | Updated: 14 November 2021, 07:54

The Queen will return to the public eye to attend the Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph after being told to rest by doctors.

The monarch will lead Britain in honouring its casualties of war alongside Boris Johnson and other top politicians.

There had been questions over whether the head of state would be able attend after she had to cancel a number of events in the wake of her overnight stay in hospital last month.

But the palace has confirmed she will attend Sunday's service, which will also see the number of participating military personnel, veterans and onlookers return to pre-Covid levels.

The roughly 10,000 veterans will march past the Cenotaph in Whitehall while hundreds of service personnel will line up there.

The service will see royals and politicians lay wreaths and pay their respects to the fallen.

Read more: Queen will attend Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph, palace confirms

Prince Charles will lay one on behalf of the Queen while she watches from the balcony of a Government building, which has been the case in previous years.

The monarch, who lived through the Second World War as a teenager, is the head of the armed forces.

She places serious importance to the remembrance service.

The Queen did not attend the Royal British Legion's Festival of Remembrance at the Albert Hall, as was expected, but Buckingham Palace announced it was her "firm intention" to appear on Sunday.

Ahead of the ceremony, which will include the two minute's silence, Boris Johnson said: "Today we come together to remember those who sacrificed everything in service of our country, in the First World War and every conflict since, including recently in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"It's a sacred ceremony that has endured for more than a century because we know the unpayable debt we owe those brave servicemen and women.

"We know that for our tomorrow they gave their today. And we know that here at home and around the world, thousands of men and women in uniform still stand ready to defend our unity and our way of life, our values, and at a cost few among us would be willing to pay.

"Today we come together. We wear our poppies with pride and stand as a nation in two minutes of silent tribute.”

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said it was "time for us all to stop, reflect, and remember those millions of people from Britain and the Commonwealth who have kept us safe through their service and sacrifice."

He added: "Our way of life, our values and our democracy are hard fought for through life-ending and life-changing sacrifice.

"It is that sacrifice that has ensured we can enjoy the freedoms that we live by every day and that we must never forget."

Chief of the Defence Staff General Sir Nick Carter said: "It is an honour to lay a wreath at the Cenotaph on behalf of all those who have lost their lives in the service of our country.

"They died to protect the free and open way of life that we enjoy today."