The Queen Consort highlighted her role as Colonel-in-Chief of the Rifles as she attended the Remembrance Sunday service today, donning a brooch commissioned by the regiment.
Camilla, 75, cut a dignified figure in an all-black ensemble for the service at the Cenotaph this morning.
Pinned onto her lapel was the Bugle Horn brooch. The silver Bugle Horn is central to the heritage of the Regiment and every Rifleman wears a silver bugle as their cap badge.
Queen Consort Camilla took over the role as Colonel-in-Chief of the infantry regiment from Prince Philip, in July 2020.
The Queen Consort (pictured during today’s Remembrance Sunday service in London) donned a brooch commissioned by the Rifles
Camilla took over the role of Colonel-in-Chief of the infantry regiment from Prince Philip in July 2020
Brooch: the silver Bugle Horn is central to the heritage of the Regiment and every Rifleman wears a silver bugle as their cap badge
The late Duke of Edinburgh had been closely associated with The Rifles and its earlier regiments for almost 70 years.
After Camilla took on the role, a portrait was commissioned, in which she showed off the symbolic brooch.
The Rifles were formed in February 2007, following the merger of four celebrated infantry Regiments – The Devonshire and Dorset Light Infantry; The Light Infantry; The Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Light Infantry; and The Royal Green Jackets.
Forged during the campaigns of Iraq and Afghanistan, they are now the largest infantry regiment in the British Army. Their motto is: ‘Swift and Bold.’
The military connection was particularly poignant today, as members of the Firm gathered to pay their respects to fallen service people.
Today’s service marked the first since the death of Queen Elizabeth II, who passed away at Balmoral in September, aged 96.
King Charles appeared emotional as he laid his wreath at the Cenotaph during today’s Remembrance Sunday service
The Prince of Wales also looked unusually emotional as he took part in the ceremony his grandmother held so dear to her
The Princess of Wales (left) and Queen Consort watch on and join in the emotional service, the first since the death of the late Elizabeth II
The Queen Consort (left), Camilla, and Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton, stand on the Whitechapel balcony to watch the ceremony
For the first time, King Charles led the service as the monarch, laying a new poppy wreath incorporating a ribbon of his racing colours, with the design a tribute to the ones used by both his late mother and his grandfather George VI.
Meanwhile Big Ben chimed 11 times at 11am, as it returns to service after years of maintenance and repair.
Today’s service also marks the 40th anniversary of the war in the Falklands, in which 255 British personnel lost their lives.
Crowds lined the streets of London, with war veterans including Chelsea Pensioners preparing to take part in the march.
King Charles III salutes the Cenotaph after laying his wreath as monarch for the first time, taking over from his late mother
King Charles III led other members of the royal family, including the Prince of Wales and Princess Royal, out to attend the Cenotaph service
Sophie, Countess of Wessex and wife of Prince Edward, attends the ceremony from the spouse’s balcony alongside Kate Middleton and the Queen Consort
At around 10:40am, the march past the Cenotaph paused temporarily while Scottish members of the UK’s armed forces, the Fourth Battalion of Highlanders, played the bagpipes, accompanied by drums.
At 10.58am, the military parade was brought to attention as King Charles III arrived.
After the two minutes of prayer and reflection had ended, in an emotional tribute to those killed during the wars of the last century, members of the military played the Last Post.
King Charles III then laid his wreath and saluted to the Cenotaph on behalf of the nation. A wreath was then laid on behalf of Her Majesty the Queen Consort.
The Prince of Wales then proceeded to lay his wreath, complete with the feathers of the heir apparent. This was the wreath previously laid by his father. The wreath, bearing the colours of the Prince of Wales, also bears a brand-new ribbon in Welsh red.
The armed forces are watched as they parade past the Cenotaph by veterans and members of the public gathered for the occasion
Some 10,000 veterans and military personnel are involved in today’s march, which ends at the Cenotaph
The Cenotaph in London, pictured moments before the arrival of King Charles III and the two-minute silence
Flowers and tributes across the UK and its overseas territories paid tribute to those lost in the Falklands war on its 40th anniversary
The Earl of Wessex and Princess Royal then laid a wreath, before one was laid on behalf of the Duke of Kent.
The military parade then stood at ease as music played and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer led the rest of the wreath-laying. They were followed by leader of the SNP Ian Blackford and leader of the Lib Dems Ed Davey.
The service is being led by the Lord Bishop of London, Dame Sarah Elisabeth Mullally. She has held the role since 2018.
As well as the King and Queen Consort, many members of the royal family were in attendance this morning. This includes the Prince and Princess of Wales, Princess Anne and Prince Edward.
Numerous former Prime Ministers including Liz Truss, Boris Johnson, Theresa May, David Cameron and Tony Blair are also there, some of whom are laying wreaths at the Cenotaph.
Sir Keir Starmer looks solemnly at the other wreaths as he steps forward to lay his down on behalf of the Labour Party
Ian Blackford, Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak (L-R) hold their wreaths in preparation as they wait for the arrival of King Charles III
(Left to right) British former Prime Minister Sir Tony Blair’s wife Cherie Blair, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s his wife Akshata Murty, British former Prime Minister Theresa May’s husband Philip May and British former Prime Minister Liz Truss’ husband Hugh O’Leary attend the Remembrance Sunday ceremony
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak bowed his head after laying his wreath in a mark of respect for those who lost their lives
Speaker of the House of Commons Sir Lindsay Hoyle also laid a wreath on behalf of the entire House of Commons.
The Queen, who died nine weeks ago at the age of 96, considered Remembrance Sunday, which commemorates the war dead, one of the most significant and important engagements in the royal calendar.
She first laid a wreath at the Cenotaph in 1945 when she was still a princess. The nation’s longest-reigning monarch, who lived through the Second World War as a teenager and was head of the armed forces, only missed seven Cenotaph services during her reign, including in 2021 due to a back sprain.
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