King Charles joined by Queen Consort and senior royals for British Legion’s Festival of Remembrance

King Charles, the Queen Consort and senior members of the royal family are gathering at the Royal Albert Hall to pay their respects at the annual Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance.

The event is one of a series the royals are attending to commemorate the nation’s war dead, ahead of tomorrow’s Remembrance Sunday ceremony at the Cenotaph in Whitehall.

Queen Elizabeth, who died nine weeks ago at the age of 96, considered Remembrance Sunday one of the most significant and important engagements in her royal calendar and missed just a handful of services in her historic 70 years as monarch.

This year marks the King’s first year as monarch. The service will double as a tribute to the late Queen and her contribution to the cause, as the Royal British Legion’s patron and the longest serving Commander-in-Chief of the British Armed Forces.

Charles and Camilla were joined by the Prince and Princess of Wales, the Earl and Countess of Wessex, the Princess Royal and Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the Duke of Kent and Princess Alexandra. 

Kate was glowing in a tailored belted black blazer and flowing calf length skirt, with three poppies pinned to her collar. She wore her hair down with drop pearl earrings and a matching necklace.

Camilla also opted for a black dress, adorned with sequined poppies and a delicate red poppy brooch, along with her favoured Van Cleef drop earrings. The King, meanwhile, showcased his collection of medals and wore a single poppy for the occasion. 

Through words, song and storytelling the festival will commemorate the service and sacrifice of servicemen and women and will mark the 40th anniversary of the Falklands war.

During the event, the royal party were received by Ian McCulloch, president of the Royal Albert Hall and Lieutenant General James Bashall, president of the Royal British Legion.

The British Legion said of the event: ‘As the nation continues to emerge from a long period of great difficulty, we will reinforce our admiration of the unfailing sense of service displayed by the Armed Forces and commemorate those who gave their service, even at the cost of their lives.’ 

Those who were unable to attend the ceremony have been encouraged to perform acts of remembrance in a different way. Some examples of this include wearing a poppy in November, observing a two-minute silence, or holding a service in a church, temple, synagogue, mosque or village hall. 

Alastair Graham, King Charles’ former equerry, said: ‘He understands the history and the multitude of connections between the sovereign, the Royal Family and the Armed Forces far better, I think, than any member of his staff.

‘I think it’s an intrinsic part of his role as King and he understands that there is an indelible link to the Armed Forces.’

King Charles trained as a naval officer and as a royal air force pilot in his youth. He never saw active combat duty but worked his way through the ranks over the years and has a great respect for the military.

Upon his ascension to the throne, he also became head of the armed forces. 

On Sunday, during the official Remembrance Day Service at the Cenotaph, the King will lay a new poppy wreath incorporating a ribbon of his racing colours; scarlet, purple and gold.

The design is a tribute to the wreaths laid by both his late mother and his grandfather, George VI.

As Charles leads the nation at the Cenotaph for the first time as King, the service will be a poignant moment for the royal family.

The Queen Consort will view the service from a balcony of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office building, and a wreath will be laid on her behalf. 

Both wreaths will include handwritten cards bearing their new cyphers.

The late Queen first commemorated Remembrance Sunday on November 11, 1945 – the first following World War II and before she acceded the throne.

She was forced to miss last year due to spraining her back the morning of the event.

Buckingham Palace said in a statement: ‘The Queen, having sprained her back, has decided this morning with great regret that she will not be able to attend today’s Remembrance Sunday Service at the Cenotaph. Her Majesty is disappointed that she will miss the service.’

The late Queen only missed six other Cenotaph ceremonies during her 70-year reign: on four occasions when she was on overseas visits to Ghana in 1961, Brazil in 1968, Kenya in 1983 and South Africa in 1999. 

She was not present during the 1959 and 1963 services as she was pregnant with her two youngest children. 

Multi award-winning tenor Andrea Bocelli will perform on Saturday evening, while Emmy Award-winning actress Hannah Waddingham and actor Luke Evans are both scheduled to appear.

Marisha Wallace will perform alongside the HM Royal Marines band, the Royal Air Force Squadronaires and the Bach Choir.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was also in attendance on Saturday evening, alongside his wife Akshata Murthy. 

Remembrance Day first began in 1919, to commemorate the end of the First World War. The armistice signed by Germany signaled hostilities drew to a close ‘at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month’ of 1918.

It comes after the Royal Family‘s Instagram account shared a selection of photographs marking the Queen‘s dedication to the Armed Forces earlier on Saturday.

The snaps capture the Queen – who was the Royal British Legion’s Patron for 70 years – in her military uniform, meeting servicemen and women, and inspecting poppy wreaths.

Highlights also include a photograph showing Her Majesty, who died on 8 September 2022 at Balmoral aged 96, attending the Festival of Remembrance in 1955.

The post’s caption read: ‘Tonight, The King and The Queen Consort, joined by Members of The Royal Family, will attend the annual @RoyalBritishLegion Festival of Remembrance at the @RoyalAlbertHall.

‘This year’s theme will reflect on the value of ‘service’ and will include a special tribute to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, who was the Royal British Legion’s Patron for 70 years.

‘In 1945, the then Princess Elizabeth became the first female member of The Royal Family to serve as a full-time active member of the Armed Forces, when she joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS).

‘As well as being Head of the Armed, Queen Elizabeth was also the wife, mother and grandmother of individuals who served in the Forces. Much of Her Majesty’s working life was spent meeting serving members of the Armed Forces and their families.’