King leads Cenotaph silence on Remembrance Sunday

King Charles led the nation in a two-minute silence at the Cenotaph in London on Remembrance Sunday. He laid the first wreath, of 41 poppies, on behalf of the country and the Commonwealth. Queen Camilla and the Princess of Wales watched from a balcony. Prince William, the Princess Royal and the Duke of Edinburgh also laid wreaths.

Nine former prime ministers attended, a record, alongside Andy Burnham in his first Remembrance Sunday as Prime Minister. Nigel Farage laid a wreath for Reform UK for the first time. Most broadcasters reported that around 10,000 veterans took part in the Royal British Legion march past. Channel 5 put the number at around 7,000. Only about a dozen of those who marched served in the Second World War. Sky News and GB News said the oldest participant was 105, while BBC News and Sky News noted that the youngest marcher was seven.

BBC News's Tom Symonds described the Cenotaph as an empty tomb designed in 1920 to commemorate the absence of so many lost to conflict. Donald Poole, 102, told BBC One that 'the cream of the country's young men should be revered, looked and cared for'. Sky News spoke to Betty Withers, a 100-year-old Royal Navy cook, who said Remembrance Sunday brought back memories of the day before D-Day. Michael Woods, whom ITV described as 101 and Channel 4 as 102, said he would like to come each year while he was able. Paul Stewart-Clark, 100, who served in the Army Film and Photographic Unit, told Sky News that the material shot by his unit was testimony to what happened to British and Commonwealth troops.

Services were held across the UK. Scotland's First Minister John Swinney joined veterans in Edinburgh. Wales's First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth and the Secretary of State for Wales Stephen Kinnock attended the Welsh National War Memorial in Cardiff. People gathered at Belfast's Cenotaph.

The Culture Secretary, Lisa Nandy, rejected claims that linking a UK return to the EU's Erasmus Plus student scheme to Remembrance Sunday was inappropriate. BBC One reported her rejection after the Conservatives and Reform UK criticised the timing. Sky News reported that Andy Burnham had pledged record funding for accommodation for homeless veterans before Christmas. Channel 4 reported that he urged councils to ensure no one who served in the UK armed forces sleeps rough this Christmas. Channel 4 also reported that the government wants to prepare for new hybrid and cyber conflicts.