Queen Elizabeth II returns to public duties; will attend Remembrance service at Cenotaph

The Queen of England, Elizabeth II on Sunday will attend the Remembrance Sunday service at Cenotaph in central London. Taking a break from official duties due to health issues, the 95-year-old monarch will observe the annual occasion from the balcony of the Foreign Office building, Buckingham Palace announced on Friday. However, the Queen reportedly missed the Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall held on Saturday evening. Additionally, the ailing monarch will also miss the General Synod next week, the statement mentioned.

The announcement came two days ago after the Queen spent a night in a hospital for "preliminary investigations." On Thursday, Prince of Wales, Charles reassured the public about his mother's health and told the media that "she is alright." As per the Independent report, last week doctors permitted the Queen to leave Windsor Castle after which she returned to the Berkshire residence on Tuesday from Sandringham in Norfolk.

Buckingham Palace on Thursday said that it was the Queen's "firm intention" to attend the annual wreath-laying ceremony in Whitehall, the Independent reported. The event is of particular importance to the Queen as she has lived through the second world war and is the head of the armed forces. Her Highness will commemorate the sacrifices made by the servicemen and women at the time of the war.

Remembrance Day will witness a pre-pandemic crowd

Several prominent leaders of the United Kingdom will be present at the war memorial in London to pay homage to all lives lost during the war and other conflicts. The event, as reported by The Guardian, will witness pre-pandemic footfall, including war veterans, military and senior politicians like UK PM Boris Johnson, who said it is a day "to remember those who sacrificed everything for our country." Over hundreds of servicemen and women are planned to line up around the Cenotaph and around 10,000 veterans to march past the war memorial with a large crowd cheering.

What is Remembrance Day?

Remembrance Day is observed on the second Sunday of every November where the Queen leaders the whole United Kingdom in paying tribute to those who were martyred in world wars and other conflicts, the Royal website says. The Royal Family unites at the Cenotaph, holding two minutes of silence as the Big Ben bell tolls 11 am. The Queen and others, including High Commissioners from the Commonwealth, lay poppy flowers at the foot of the war memorial followed by a short religious service, The Rouse, and singing of the National Anthem.

Image: AP