Camilla pays tribute to nation’s war dead ahead of Remembrance Day

The Queen has commemorated the nation’s war dead at a sombre ceremony at Westminster Abbey’s Field of Remembrance.

Camilla paid tribute and recognised the sacrifices of those who fought and died for their country in her first visit to the abbey since the coronation.

Following prayers led by Dean of Westminster the Very Rev Dr David Hoyle and the Right Rev Anthony Ball, rector of St Margaret’s Church, the Queen placed a small wooden cross adorned with a red poppy into a larger cross made from the flowers forever associated with the First World War.

After placing the cross down, Camilla and hundreds of veterans fell silent at 11am as the chimes of Big Ben rang out.

After observing a two-minute silence, the Queen met minister for veterans’ affairs Johnny Mercer, as well as staff and supporters of the Poppy Factory, which organises all the memorial plots at the abbey.

Around 40,000 tributes, including symbols of all faiths, were laid out by volunteers in more than 300 plots in the grounds of Westminster Abbey ahead of the ceremony, as veterans and guests came together to remember fallen comrades and loved ones.

Camilla, wearing a green Rifles coat designed by Fiona Clare paired with a cape from Amanda Wakeley, then moved through crowds stopping to observe plots and speaking to representatives.

The Queen places a memorial cross during a visit to Westminster Abbey (Aaron Chown/PA)

She moved around the Field of Remembrance and chatted to the veterans, quizzing them about their plots and thanking them for their service.

Among those Camilla met as she toured the plots was Robert Stockwell, 85, who served in the same regiment as her father Major Bruce Shand, the 12th Royal Lancers, in Wolfenbuttel, Germany, from 1956 to 1958.

He said: “There are very few of us left from the 12th Royal Lancers, so I feel I have to come and I will be at the Cenotaph on Sunday.”

The Queen also had an entertaining exchange with a 94-year-old Chelsea Pensioner.

Camilla meets veterans of the armed forces during a visit to the Field of Remembrance (Aaron Chown/PA)

Jon Walker told the PA News Agency: “Last year I said ‘Hey up me duck’ (to the Queen).

“She come past me and I said ‘Hey up me duck’. She answered and said ‘I remember you’.”

In total Camilla spent around 35 minutes meeting veterans and other guests and couldn’t resist stopping to pat five-year-old Staffordshire Bull Terrier Watchman VI, the regimental mascot of the Staffordshire Regimental Association.

Speaking after the visit, the Dean of Westminster said of the Queen: “She’s marvellous. She’s deeply committed to this job – she’s only sorry she can’t stay longer.

A member of the Royal Navy places a memorial cross at the Field of Remembrance at Westminster Abbey in London (Aaron Chown/PA)

“That act of remembrance is deeply serious and deeply sombre, but there’s a lot of joy and hope in this community, so she was enjoying that.”

Amanda Shepard, chief executive of the Poppy Factory, said: “It was a great honour to have Her Majesty The Queen attend the Field of Remembrance once again, 95 years since a group of veterans from our factory first planted poppies in the grounds of Westminster Abbey.

“Their intention was to publicly honour those who have given their lives in the service of others. It is vital that we continue to do so, and to offer an opportunity for people of all faiths and none to place their own personal tributes.

“We are very grateful to Her Majesty for attending today, and for her longstanding and continued support for our charity as we work to help more members of the armed forces community overcome barriers and move forward towards a more positive future through employment.”