London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 30, 2025

Armistice Day: UK gathers for remembrance of deaths in military conflicts

Armistice Day: UK gathers for remembrance of deaths in military conflicts

The UK has come together for Armistice Day, a year after ceremonies were disrupted by the pandemic.

The Duchess of Cornwall laid a cross amid the poppies at the Field of Remembrance outside Westminster Abbey.

And delegates at the COP26 summit in Glasgow stopped to observe a two-minute silence at 11:00 GMT to commemorate those who died in military conflicts.

Remembrance in 2020 had been reduced by Covid rules with people encouraged to stay home and remember the fallen.

With no restrictions now remaining, events took place again across the UK this year.

Camilla - who was representing the Royal Family at the commemorations - observed the silence ahead of the opening of the 93rd Field of Remembrance, which will be accessible to the public until 21 November.

A single gun was fired from Edinburgh Castle as local government officials there joined members of the armed forces laying wreaths at the Scott Monument.

The silence was also observed at the Field of Remembrance at Belfast's City Hall, at the cenotaph in the centre of Derry and at Cathays Park in Cardiff.

Meanwhile, a service took place at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire.

Camilla joined the service outside Westminster Abbey...

....as poppy wreaths were laid at the nearby Cenotaph


COP26 president Alok Sharma, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres stood in silence at the climate summit in Glasgow

1st Battalion of The Duke Of Lancaster's Regiment march through the streets of Liverpool before the city observed the two-minute silence at 1100


A two-minute silence is held every year on 11 November at 11:00 GMT to mark the end of World War One in 1918.

The silence is held then because the end of hostilities between Germany and the Allies was declared "on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month".

The traditional symbol of remembrance is the poppy, with people wearing pins and laying wreaths of them in tribute.

When is Remembrance Sunday?


Remembrance Sunday - observed on the closest Sunday to Armistice Day - features the National Service of Remembrance at the Cenotaph in London. It will be held this Sunday.

The Queen is expected to pay tribute at the ceremony, alongside other members of the Royal Family, serving and former members of the armed forces, representatives of Commonwealth nations and senior British politicians.

Like Armistice Day, Remembrance Sunday will see the nation fall silent at 11:00 to remember the war dead.

The Duchess of Cornwall met veterans and armed forces representatives at Westminster Abbey

The centre of Belfast fell silent at 1100

Shoppers observed the two-minute silence in Liverpool


In London, hundreds of wreaths have travelled to major stations from around the UK and overseas from locations including the Falkland Islands, as part of the Poppies to Paddington and Routes of Remembrance campaigns by The Veterans Charity.

One has already toured the UK and on Thursday travelled up the Thames, before being taken to the Tower of London on board HMS Belfast - a surviving World War Two Navy warship.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson posted a photograph on social media showing him observing the two-minute silence at Downing Street.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, who observed the silence at the Cenotaph, and tweeted thanking "everyone who has served, and continues to serve, in our armed forces".



The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge tweeted a photograph of the Field of Remembrance at the National Memorial Arboretum - with William and Catherine adding a message "remembering the armed forces, and their families, from Britain and the Commonwealth, for the vital role played by the emergency services & those that have lost their lives as a result of conflict".

On Saturday, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall will lead other members of the Royal Family at the Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall.

The Queen has confirmed she will not be at the annual event organised by the Royal British Legion forces charity, after doctors advised her to rest for two weeks. But she said it was her "firm intention" to attend the Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph the following day.

During an engagement in Brixton, south London, for his Prince's Trust charity, a man asked the Prince of Wales about the Queen. Prince Charles gave him a pat on the arm, and appeared to say: "She's alright, thank you."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
×