Princess Elizabeth in 1945.Photo: Fox Photos/Getty
The British royal family is preparing to mark Remembrance Day for the first time sinceQueen Elizabeth’s death.
Over the weekend, King Charles and Queen Camilla will lead the royals in honoring all those who lost their lives in wars. On Saturday, the royal family will attend the Festival of Remembrance at Royal Albert Hall, and they’ll gather again on Sunday at the Cenotaph war memorial for the poignant National Service of Remembrance.
Remembrance Day was an important event forQueen Elizabeth, going back to before she was the monarch. As Princess Elizabeth, she dressed in uniform as she laid a wreath at the Cenotaph for the first time on November 11, 1945, the first Remembrance Sunday following World War II.
Queen Elizabethmissed the moving ceremony just ahandful of timesduring her historic 70-year reign. She first skipped the Remembrance Day service in 1959, when she was pregnant with her third child,Prince Andrew. She was also absent from the event in 1963 due to her pregnancy with her youngest child,Prince Edward.
Her four other absences were due to overseas visits: Ghana in 1961, Brazil in 1968, Kenya in 1983 and South Africa in 1999.
Last year,Queen Elizabethwas determined to appear at the Remembrance Day service despite a hospitalization the previous month. However, Buckingham Palace announced the morning of the event that she had to miss it due to asprained back.
“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,” the palace said in a statement. “Her Majesty is disappointed that she will miss the service.”
“Nobody regrets the Queen’s absence today more deeply than Her Majesty,” the source added.
Queen Elizabeth and Kate Middleton.Chris Jackson/Getty
The royals are “completely embedded,” in the annual rituals honoring those who died in conflicts,A Century of Remembranceauthor Laura Cloutingpreviously told PEOPLE.
“The royal family is showing gratitude for the loss of life basically occurring in their name — certainly in the name of the Sovereign as the head of state,” noted Clouting, referencing the British military oath. “Remembrance is very, very personal for them.”
Camilla, Queen Elizabeth and Kate Middleton in 2018.Samir Hussein/WireImage
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The Royal British Legion rememberedQueen Elizabethahead of this weekend’s events on Twitter.
“As we come together as a nation on Sunday we will pay tribute to Her late Majesty’s unwavering sense of duty, and her devotion to a lifetime of service,” theywroteon Friday. “Her enduring dedication to the Armed Forces will be deeply missed and never forgotten.”
source: people.com
