How King Charles Will Break With Queen Elizabeth's Time-Honored Tradition
In the United Kingdom, the second Sunday of November is known as Remembrance Sunday. The observance of this holiday is done in order to honor and remember British soldiers and service members who have died in wars and other military conflicts since World War I (via Britannica). Remembrance Sunday was an event of utmost importance to the late Queen Elizabeth II, and during her 70 years as Queen she very rarely ever missed the official ceremony (via The Mirror). During this ceremony, she would lay a wreath made of 90 poppies at Cenotaph in central London.
This coming Sunday, King Charles III also plans to lay a wreath in the same place that his mother always did, but he will breaking with tradition slightly by laying a wreath that will be made differently from the one his late mother always left. His wife, Queen Consort Camilla, will also lay a wreath of her own during the ceremony.
What the King's wreath will look like
The wreath that King Charles III plans to lay at the Cenotaph this coming Sunday reportedly will feature fewer poppies than the wreath Queen Elizabeth II traditionally left, but the flowers on the wreath will be bigger than past wreaths, according to The Telegraph. The King's wreath will also feature a ribbon made of his racing colors. The ribbon harkens back to an older tradition, in which former Kings George V and George VI left wreaths featuring ribbons in their own respective racing colors.
Queen Consort Camilla While Queen Consort Camilla will also have a wreath designed for her to leave during the ceremony, she will not lay it herself, choosing instead to follow in the tradition of the Queen Mother, who watched the ceremony from the balcony of the Foreign Office. Camilla will be watching from that same balcony as her wreath is laid. A wreath will also be left in the name of William and Catherine, Prince and Princess of Wales, which will feature a ribbon made of Wales Red.