Remembrance Day Services 1: 2003-2021


If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
See posts with no answers
The only HRH's who don't attend this event, besides the children, are Beatrice and Eugenie and the Duchess of Kent.The girls used to attend as children/teenagers but haven't been for about a decade now. If any other HRHs aren't there they would be ill.
 
What grace O-H Anglophile :zen:


Having just watched it, Cams did still seem under the weather, she actually looked her age for once. Do miss seeing Philip at these sort of things.
 
Iluvbertie said:
The only HRH's who don't attend this event, besides the children, are Beatrice and Eugenie and the Duchess of Kent.The girls used to attend as children/teenagers but haven't been for about a decade now. If any other HRHs aren't there they would be ill.
Click to expand...


Did Princess Alexandra attend? could not see her in any of the pics and she was also not listed in the List i have seen on Twitter.
 
I am not sure. I will wait until I see the CC. She rarely misses this event so if she isn't there I would be assuming she wasn't well enough to attend. She would have been at the very back of the royal box and the media don't tend to report on her attendance at full royal events - even the royal family's own media outlets rarely mention her other than the CC and the FE.
 
Stefan said:
Did Princess Alexandra attend? could not see her in any of the pics and she was also not listed in the List i have seen on Twitter.
Click to expand...

No I haven't seen Princess Alexandra so far.
 
William and Harry did attend. They laid wreaths directly after Charles laid his second wreath - alongside Andrew and ahead of Anne and the two Edwards (Wessex and Kent). They don't go on the balconies but are down below.
 
The Remembrance Sunday Service from the Cenotaph in London.


 
Last edited:
It´s a pity, Sky news only covered the middle balcony with The Queen and the 2 Duchesses but not the other ones...!
 
The Queen is Head of State and was with the next two most senior royal ladies while the other senior royals were at the Cenotaph steps laying their wreaths, i’m not sure how they could fit the other balcony in as well. The second balcony rarely ever got covered in past.
 
tommy100 said:
The Queen is Head of State and was with the next two most senior royal ladies while the other senior royals were at the Cenotaph steps laying their wreaths, i’m not sure how they could fit the other balcony in as well. The second balcony rarely ever got covered in past.
Click to expand...

Easily enough. They could have in the multiple times they panned to the queen's balcony, panned to the second balcony once or twice. Other coverage seemed to manage it with no issue. The focus of this event is not 'the queen and heir' but the royal family being out honoring the fallen.

I wish Tim was down on the ground with the others. He may not be a 'working royal' but he did actively serve. He also represented the queen as chairman of the commonwealth war graves commission for years.
 
I guess Sky see it as a national event and feel the RF are represented in their coverage enough by seeing the Queen and those laying wreaths. Ultimately while royal watchers like us may see it as a great opportunity to see the RF out in full, unlike say Trooping the Colour, this is not solely a royal event but a National remembrance service attended by the Queen and her family, the PM and other political leaders, Commonwealth representatives and representatives of different religions. Making sure to get a good shot of all would be impossible.

I wish Tim was on the ground too. Part of me feels it would have been nice for Philip to have asked him to represent him and lay his wreath when he stopped attending.
 
Last edited:
I don't know why Prince Michael of Kent lays a wreath some years and not others.
 
Perhaps he is, to be blunt, the royal understudy, there to make up the numbers when someone else is away and unable to attend?
 
tommy100 said:
Perhaps he is, to be blunt, the royal understudy, there to make up the numbers when someone else is away and unable to attend?
Click to expand...

I don't think so because he laid a wreath last year and no one was missing.
 
Perhaps Prince Michael of Kent lays a wreath each year as a representative of his family. His father, Prince George, Duke of Kent died in an airplane crash near Caithness, Scotland on August 25, 1942 during non-operational duties.

Just my guess.
 
sophie25 said:
I don't know why Prince Michael of Kent lays a wreath some years and not others.
Click to expand...

It was the Duke of Kent and he has always laid a wreath, although some years different members of the royal family do not attend in London but attend somewhere in the world where our military are serving So there may have been years when he was not in London. The duke of kent despite his age and health issues is an active member of the family supporting the queen his cousin.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the correction that it was the Duke of Kent.

If I'm not mistaken, the Kents are the only current members of the British royal family that actually had a close relative that died while in military service during WWII and it was quite a shock to the entire BRF when it happened. Both the Duke of Kent and Prince Michael of Kent are Prince George, Duke of Kent's sons and Princess Alexandra, his daughter.
 
Last edited:
He was also a serving career soldier, I would also like to point out that the dukes of Gloucester and Kent were grandsons of a king and were close heirs to the throne until the queen had her children. They have both, as well as Prince Michael served the queen for many years
 
Doesn't the Duke of Kent hold one of the highest ranks in the Army, even out of the RF? I think he is a Field Marshal, a title held also only by Charles and Philip.
He served for over 20 years in the Army until the 1970s.
 
Hallo girl said:
It was the Duke of Kent and he has always laid a wreath, although some years different members of the royal family do not attend in London but attend somewhere in the world where our military are serving So there may have been years when he was not in London. The duke of kent despite his age and health issues is an active member of the family supporting the queen his cousin.
Click to expand...

I'm not talking about the Duke of Kent. I'm asking why Prince Michael of Kent lays a wreath some years and not others.
 
sophie25 said:
I'm not talking about the Duke of Kent. I'm asking why Prince Michael of Kent lays a wreath some years and not others.
Click to expand...

Perhaps because he lost a father in service to crown and country during WWII. My reasoning for this is that there is no other members of the BRF that are currently alive and attending the Cenotaph (other than the Duke of Kent and Princess Alexandra, Prince Michael's siblings) that have lost a close family member in service to their country.

My guess is that if Prince Michael lays a wreath, its for family reasons and personal and approved by HM, The Queen.

Correct me if I'm wrong on this, please? ?
 
Osipi said:
Perhaps because he lost a father in service to crown and country during WWII. My reasoning for this is that there is no other members of the BRF that are currently alive and attending the Cenotaph (other than the Duke of Kent and Princess Alexandra, Prince Michael's siblings) that have lost a close family member in service to their country.

My guess is that if Prince Michael lays a wreath, its for family reasons and personal and approved by HM, The Queen.

Correct me if I'm wrong on this, please? ?
Click to expand...

Yes but I'm asking why he dosn't lay one EVERY year.
 
So looking at the 2018 video Prince Michael laid a wreath, the Queen watched from the balcony and Philip's was laid down by an Equerry. Then William, Harry, Andrew, Edward and then Anne, DoKent and Prince Michael.

So clearly my earlier suggestion of being a stand in was wrong so it suggests he attends when he can/wants to/isn't somewhere else.

Edit -having flicked through old youtube videos it appears 2018 was the first time in ages Prince Michael laid a wreath, maybe because it was centenary of the end of the First World War? From videos it seems:
not there 1991, 1995 (only earlier times I could find)
there 2003
not there 2009-2011
there 2012 (HM's Jubilee year)
not there 2013-2017
was there 2018
not there 2019.

Edit (can you tell I'm bored)
In 2012 the Court Circular noted that "Wreaths were also laid by The Duke of Cambridge, The Duke of York, The Earl of Wessex, The Princess Royal and Prince Michael of Kent (on behalf of The Duke of Kent)"

Searching it only showed 2003 and 2012 not 2018. The 2003 has no special notes and just listed him as attending and laying wreath (only thing I spotted was on both occasions Charles was absent overseas)
 
Last edited:
tommy100 said:
Doesn't the Duke of Kent hold one of the highest ranks in the Army, even out of the RF? I think he is a Field Marshal, a title held also only by Charles and Philip.
He served for over 20 years in the Army until the 1970s.
Click to expand...

Many of the senior royals have high ranks. There is the rank they achieved while they served though vs promotions since:

-Prince Philip: -during service, commander of the royal navy. Since retiring, he has been promoted to lord high admiral (served in WWII)
-Charles- lieutenant in the royal navy when left duty in 1976. flight lieutenant in the airforce. Now post retirement, admiral of the fleet and air marshal
-Andrew: retired with the rank of commander. Now honorary vice admiral (fought in the Falklands)
-Duke of Kent: Royal Scots Greys. Promoted to lieutenant colonel in service. Field marshal since retirement (peace keeping including Ireland and Cyprus)
-Prince William- captain in Blues and royals, flight lieutenant RAF while serving (search and rescue RAF) Major in army, squadron leader in the RAF since leaving service.
-Prince Harry: Captain in the blues and royals (deployed to Afghanistan). Since retirement a Major in army, squadron leader RAF
-Prince Michael: Army in The Royal Hussars (peacekeeping) retired as Major. many honorary appointments since

extended family:
-Earl of Ulster (heir of DOG) Royal Hussars (seen duty in Northern Ireland, Kossovo and Iraq) he retired with the rank of Acting Major.
-Tim Lawrence: Vice Admiral of the royal navy (Northern Ireland among other deployments)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

iceflower
Royals at the Commemoration of the 80th anniversary of D-Day: June 6, 2024
2 3
Replies
72
Views
10K
Moonmaiden23
Moonmaiden23
Marengo
Remembrance Day Services 2: 2022 -
2 3
Replies
61
Views
6K
An Ard Ri
An Ard Ri
LadyFinn
Crown Princess Victoria & Prince Daniel's Official Visit to UK: Nov 29-Dec 1, 2023
Replies
17
Views
4K
LadyFinn
LadyFinn
Y
"A Royal Life" by HRH The Duke of Kent and Hugo Vickers (2022)
Replies
2
Views
3K
Lady Daly
Lady Daly
lucien
D-Day remembrance 2019
Replies
5
Views
2K
Alison H
A

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom