Country falls silent for Remembrance Sunday
Services are taking place across the UK
Last updated 10th Nov 2024
The UK will fall silent this morning as the country marks Remembrance Day.
At 11am today (10th November) a two-minute silence will be observed to remember those who have died in military conflicts.
Magic at the Musicals will also be taking part, falling silent at 11am.
The National Service of Remembrance will be held at the Cenotaph on Whitehall, London while many local services will be held across the country.
Similar to Armistice Day, two minutes silence will be observed at 11:00 between two bugle calls, 'The Last Post and 'The Reveille.'
Following the two-minute silence the King is expected to be the first to lay a wreath on behalf of the nation.
There will be parades from veterans, various military groups, charities, marching bands and members of the public.
Kate and William at Remembrance service
The Princess of Wales is to attend both the Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph and the Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall this weekend.
It marks the next significant step in Kate’s gradual return to public royal duties as she prepares to join the King and the Prince of Wales to honour the nation’s war dead.
Kate, who revealed eight months ago she had an undisclosed form of cancer, will attend the annual Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall on Saturday evening and then the national commemoration at the Cenotaph on Sunday.
It will be the first time she has carried out two consecutive days of public official engagements since the start of the year.
The Queen’s attendance over the weekend will, however, be subject to medical advice nearer the time.
Camilla, 77, is unwell with a chest infection and was forced to pull out of engagements earlier this week.
Why do people wear poppies on Remembrance Day?
The symbol of the poppy dates all the way back to the First World War as they grew on the battlefields of the Western Front in Europe.
After the death of his friend in Ypres, Belgium in 1915, Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae was inspired by the sight of poppies growing in fields.
Amazed by the war memorial he proceeded to write the now-famous poem 'In Flanders Fields'.
Britain began to use the poppy symbol shortly after the war in 1921 when the Royal British Legion was formed.
World War One timeline
28 June 1914: Archduke Francis Ferdinand is assassinated. Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia, beginning World War I
2-7 August 1914: British forces arrive in France
6-12 September 1914: The First Battle of the Marne. 13,000 British casualties with 1,700 dead. 67,700 Germans dead
5 November 1914: Britain and France declare war on the Ottoman Empire
17 July 1915: Women demonstrate the right to work in war industries
1 July 1916 - 18 November 1916: Battle of the Somme. 420,00 British casualties. 1,499,000 casualties overall.
6 April 1917: The United States declares war on Germany
20 November 1917: First large-scale use of tanks in combat at Cambrai, France
11 November 1918: Germany signs the Armistice at Compiègne, ending World War I.