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The Princess of Wales will take a leading role in next week’s national remembrance events, Kensington Palace has confirmed.
Kate will attend a service of remembrance at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire on Armistice Day, November 11, where she will lay a wreath and observe the national two-minute silence at 11am.
Her visit will follow a weekend of solemn commemorations led by King Charles and Queen Camilla, including the Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall on Saturday night and the annual Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph in Whitehall the following morning.
The service at the National Memorial Arboretum next Tuesday will include the reading of a specially commissioned poem by Arji Manuelpillai, the Arboretum’s Poet in Residence. The poem will explore themes of connection, experience, and the bonds formed through military service — subjects that are deeply meaningful to the Princess of Wales.
Performances by Talent in the Ranks and Black Voices will accompany the ceremony. After the service, Kate will view the newly dedicated names on the Armed Forces Memorial before meeting veterans in attendance.
She will also spend time with a group of secondary school students from military families whose parents are currently deployed, highlighting the vital but often unseen sacrifices of Service families. Finally, the Princess will tour a special exhibition titled Letters from the Frontline – Words, War and Victory, currently on display at the Arboretum.
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The Letters from the Frontline – Words, War and Victory exhibition was created in partnership with BBC radio stations across the Midlands and presents the emotions and experiences of Armed Forces personnel and their families during 1945, the final months of World War II. The exhibit features deeply moving personal letters and correspondence, capturing the human side of war and remembrance.
Meanwhile, King Charles will lead the nation on Remembrance Sunday by laying a wreath at the Cenotaph in Central London. The design of his floral tribute will honour tradition, echoing the wreaths once laid by his grandfather, King George VI, and his mother, Queen Elizabeth II.
The King’s wreath will feature poppies mounted on black leaves, in keeping with royal tradition, and will be adorned with a ribbon in his racing colours — scarlet, purple, and gold.
Queen Camilla’s wreath will be laid on her behalf by her Equerry and will bear her own racing colours, passed down from her grandfather. Its design will echo the wreath once laid by Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.
While other members of the Royal Family will attend the Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph, there will be one notable absence: Princess Anne. The Princess Royal will instead attend a Remembrance Service in Sydney, Australia, where she will lay a wreath at the Anzac Memorial alongside her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence.
