King Charles will be joined by members of the Royal Family, senior politicians and dignatiries at the Cenotaph this morning for the annual National Service of Remembrance.
The service honours the contribution of military and civilian servicemen and women in World Wars One and Two, and other conflicts.
There will be a two-minute silence at 11am, which is started by Big Ben’s chimes and a firing of a gun at Horse Guards Parade by The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery.
Another gun is fired at the end of the silence, at which point the Last Post is played by the Buglers of the Royal Marines.
King Charles will then lay a wreath at the Cenotaph. An equerry will lay a wreath on behalf of Queen Camilla – who will watch the proceedings from a balcony of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) alongside other royals such as Kate, the Princess of Wales and Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh.
There is already a strong police presence at the event, with officers lining both sides of the road and standing sentry centre around the monument.
Bosses have doubled the number of officers on duty in the capital, with 1,375 officers expected today, and the Cenotaph has a dedicated 24-hour police presence until the conclusion of Remembrance events.
It comes after around 150 pro-Palestinian protesters were detained – though not all were arrested – on Saturday night after breaking away from the main group following a 300,000-strong march through central London.
Rishi Sunak condemned the “wholly unacceptable” actions by both far-right groups and “Hamas sympathisers” on the pro-Palestinian march, and put pressure on police by saying “all criminality must be met with the full and swift force of the law”.
The Prime Minister said the ugly scenes in central London on Armistice Day “utterly disrespects” the spirit of remembrance as police confirmed 126 arrests with nine officers injured.
