Queen Elizabeth masks up to pay homage to Unknown Warrior
The floral arrangement was based on the queen's wedding bouquet from 1947
November 08, 2020
Queen Elizabeth II stepped out wearing a mask for the first time to mark a low-key Remembrance Day at Britain's Tomb of the Unknown Warrior as the country honours its war dead without the usual sombre pageantry, owing to the coronavirus pandemic.
The 94-year-old monarch laid a bouquet of orchids and myrtle on the tomb in Westminster Abbey this past week to mark 100 years since the remains of an unidentified soldier were brought back from World War I, Buckingham Palace said in a statement.
The floral arrangement was based on the queen's wedding bouquet from 1947, it said, extending a tradition at the tomb started by her mother in 1923 after her own brother was killed in the war, and continued by royal brides since.
Remembrance events are held annually on the second Sunday in November, close to November 11, when the guns fell silent in World War I.
A national wreath-laying ceremony is to proceed at the Cenotaph war memorial in central London on Sunday, but there will be no veterans marching or crowds watching because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Since 2017, heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles has taken his ageing mother's place at the ceremony. He also attended an annual remembrance concert at London's Royal Albert Hall, which was recorded without an audience and broadcast on Saturday.
