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Queen follows Cenotaph service on TV and observes two-minute silence at home

The Queen watched the moving Remembrance Sunday service from home while she recuperates from a chest infection.

Camilla observed the two minutes’ silence privately as she followed the proceedings live on television at Raymill, her Wiltshire house, after doctors ordered her to miss the annual ceremony.

She was said to be disappointed not to be able to join the royal family including the King and the Princess of Wales at the Cenotaph to see the veterans parade in remembrance of the servicemen and women who paid the ultimate sacrifice.

The Queen's equerry Major Ollie Plunket lays her wreath during the Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph
The Queen’s equerry Major Ollie Plunket lays her wreath during the Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph (Aaron Chown/PA)

There was also concern she might pass on the illness to others, with the King still undergoing treatment from cancer, and Kate recovering from the disease.

Camilla’s wreath, as is the custom even if she had attended, was placed at the Cenotaph on her behalf by her equerry Major Ollie Plunket, of The Rifles.

Remembrance Sunday 2024
Wreaths after the Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph – with the Queen’s on the far top right (Aaron Chown/PA)

The ring of poppies closely resembles the one used for Charles’s late beloved grandmother, the Queen Mother.

The 95 closed-style poppy petals are made from bonded fabric and mounted on an arrangement of black leaves.

A message from Camilla on her wreath which was placed at the Cenotaph by her equerry
A message from Camilla on her wreath which was placed at the Cenotaph by her equerry (Aaron Chown/PA)

Major Plunket placed the wreath to the right of the King’s, before stepping back to salute the monument.

The Queen is said to have dearly wanted to pay tribute in person to the nation’s war dead this weekend.

The King, the Princess Royal, followed by the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Edinburgh during the Remembrance Sunday service
The King, the Princess Royal, followed by the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Edinburgh during the Remembrance Sunday service (Jordan Pettitt/PA)

But royal doctors ordered her to have another few days’ rest to get back to full strength, meaning she also missed the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall on Saturday evening.

The Queen plans to return to London early next week if given medical clearance.

The Queen at last year's Remembrance Sunday service
The Queen at last year’s Remembrance Sunday service (Jonathan Brady/PA)

Thursday is also the King’s 76th birthday.

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