Queen to attend Remembrance Sunday service – as charity stresses importance of day being inclusive
The Queen will be attending the Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph in central London, leading the nation in commemorating those who lost their lives in conflicts.
It will be her Majesty’s first public outing after being advised to rest by doctors for almost a month, following medical checks in hospital.
The remembrance service will look very different to last year, when the event was forced to be scaled back due to the pandemic.
Nearly 10,000 veterans will participate in today’s service alongside hundreds of servicemen and women, with onlookers also present.
Nearly 10,000 veterans will participate in the service
Prime Minister Boris Johnson will be among other senior politicians and members of the Royal Family laying a wreath at the Cenotaph.
As has become custom in recent years, Prince Charles will be laying a wreath on behalf of the Queen.
A national two-minute silence will take place at 11am.
Mr Johnson said it’s a moment to “come together to remember those who sacrificed everything in service of our country”.
He added: “It’s a sacred ceremony that has endured for more than a century because we know the unpayable debt we owe those brave servicemen and women.
“We know that for our tomorrow they gave their today.
“And we know that here at home and around the world, thousands of men and women in uniform still stand ready to defend our unity and our way of life, our values, and at a cost few among us would be willing to pay.”
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Millions of people across the UK have stopped to remember those who have died in conflict
Buckingham Palace previously said it was the Queen’s “firm intention” to attend the annual service in Whitehall after she missed several other events, including the Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall on Saturday.
The Royal British Legion, the UK’s largest charity supporting those serving in the armed forces, also celebrates its centenary this year – it said this year’s march will include hundreds of young people from the cadets, guides and scouts.
British Future told Sky News about the importance of making remembrance inclusive for everybody.
The charity launched the Remember Together project, helping students investigate the untold stories of Black and Asian soldiers.
Students from a school in east London have spent the last few months looking into contributions made by those from ethnic minority backgrounds.
Wafa Afzali and Saeeda Amidu
Wafa Afzali told Sky News: “It’s really important for us to know about all the people who fought in World War Two, not just the white soldiers, the Black and Asian soldiers they also made a lot of sacrifices, for them to go unnoticed just doesn’t seem right.”
Saeeda Amidu said: “Remembrance should unite us all because many soldiers from all different ethnicities, religions, race, they all contributed to what Britain is now.”
Henry Braimah was a colonel stationed in Burma during World War One
As a result of the project, Saeeda discovered her own great-grandfather, Henry Braimah, was a colonel stationed in Burma during the Great War – a piece of family history that had never been discussed before.
Steve Ballinger, head of communications at British Future, said: “Commemorating our history can be difficult and divisive in Britain, but actually it can also bring people together.
‘Commemorating our history can be difficult’
“It is a difficult and complicated history but we need to engage with it because our history explains why Britain looks like it does today.”
Mr Ballinger added: “The armies that fought for Britain 75 years ago actually looked a lot like Britain does today in terms of its diversity.
“More than 2.5 million soldiers from India, Africa and the Caribbean served side by side in world war two, so they should all be commemorated equally today.”
Model Penny Lancaster has said she “felt ashamed and belittled” by how former MasterChef host Gregg Wallace treated her on the TV show.
Lancaster, who is also a TV personality, and is married to singer Rod Stewart, told Sky News’ The UK Tonight with Sarah-Jane Mee programme that she also felt let down by MasterChef’s production company Banijay UK.
“I didn’t feel like I was supported in that moment, I felt ashamed and belittled by the way Greg Wallace had treated me but equally I felt disappointed that the production company hadn’t come to my rescue,” Lancaster, 54 and a MasterChef contestant in 2021, said.
“There is a long way to go, but just by people coming forward and being honest about their experiences I think will help in the long term.”
At the end of July, Wallace, 60, apologised after a report commissioned by Banijay UK, and carried out by law firm Lewis Silkin, found 45 out of 83 allegations against him were substantiated.
Sir Rod Stewart criticised Wallace on Instagram in November 2024 and claimed he “humiliated” his wife when she was on the show.
He wrote: “Good riddance Wallace… You humiliated my wife when she was on the show, but you had that bit cut out didn’t you?
“You’re a tubby, bald-headed, ill-mannered bully.”
Gregg Wallace. Pic: PA
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Sky News has approached Wallace for comment.
He has previously apologised to people he has hurt, saying in July that he knows he has said things that have offended people. He has denied a specific allegation of unwanted touching.
The BBC referred Sky News to their statement from July, in which the corporation said: “Although the full extent of these issues were not known at the relevant time, opportunities were missed to address this behaviour – both by the production companies running MasterChef and the BBC. We accept more could and should have been done sooner.
“We want to thank all those who took part in the investigation, including those who first raised concerns directly with the BBC in November last year. We apologise to everyone who has been impacted by Mr Wallace’s behaviour.”
Penny Lancaster speaks to Sarah-Jane Mee
Banijay UK, the producers of MasterChef, told Sky News: “We are extremely sorry to anyone who has been impacted by any inappropriate behaviour by Gregg Wallace whilst working on our shows and felt unable to speak up at the time or that their complaint was not adequately addressed.
“Ways of reporting concerns whilst working on our productions, protocols around behaviour and training for both cast and crew, have improved exponentially in recent years and we constantly review welfare procedures across our productions to ensure that they are as robust as they can be.”
Sadiq Khan has hit back at politicians “spreading misinformation” about safety in London as new data shows the number of violent crimes leading to injury has fallen in every borough over the past year.
Figures from the mayor’s office for policing and crime compare the 12 months ending in August 2025 with the previous 12 months – and show there were 8,749 fewer crimes which resulted in someone being hurt, a drop of nearly 12%.
The borough of Havering in east London recorded the largest drop (16.3%) followed by Enfield in north London (16.1%).
The smallest decreases were in Greenwich (4.3%) and Kensington and Chelsea (4.6%).
Sir Sadiq said: “We’ve seen a number of politicians here and across the globe talking down London and spreading misinformation about crime and safety in the capital.
“The evidence is clear, our approach to tackling crime and its complex causes works. It’s driving down violence right across the capital.”
His comments come after Donald Trump reignited his feud with Sir Sadiq earlier this month by accusing him of doing a “terrible job” and claiming “crime in London is through the roof”.
The US president also hit out at the mayor in a speech at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, where he also made the outlandish claim that London “wants Sharia law” – something there is no evidence for.
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Trump attacks UN and London mayor
Asked about the attacks, Sir Sadiq said: “I think President Trump has shown he is racist, he is sexist, he is misogynistic, and he is Islamophobic.”
He added that the public would be “wondering what it is about this Muslim mayor who leads a liberal, multicultural, progressive, successful city that means I appear to be living rent-free inside Donald Trump’s head”.
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According to the mayor’s office, overall homicides in London are at a 10-year low, and the city’s rate is lower than in Berlin, Brussels, Madrid, Paris and all major US cities.
The rate of homicide was down by 17% in the 12-month period to June this year compared with the 12-month period to May 2016, it previously said.
Sir Sadiq speaks with a police officer during a walkabout in the West End earlier this year. File pic: PA
Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Rachel Williams said: “We’re targeting the most dangerous individuals, disrupting criminal networks, and investing in prevention to protect those most at risk.
“That’s why fewer people are being hurt, fewer lives are being lost, and London is becoming a safer city.”
The Conservatives rejected the suggestion that London is safer.
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp claims ‘London isn’t safer’
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said: “Under this Labour mayor, criminals know the odds are stacked in their favour.
“Only one in 20 robberies is solved, fewer offenders are being jailed, and more than a thousand police officers have been cut from the Metropolitan Police, with Sir Mark Rowley warning of further losses this year.
“Londoners don’t feel safer because London isn’t safer.”
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