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Remembrance Sunday: Britain Honours War Dead

Remembrance Sunday: Britain Honours War Dead

Remembrance ceremonies have been held across the country to honour those who gave their lives during 100 years of conflict.

Under a leaden sky in London, the Queen led the nation in a two-minute silence, remembering the country's war dead.

This year's ceremony was slightly shorter to reduce the time elderly war veterans had to stand.

Her Majesty, joined by the Duke of Edinburgh and other members of the Royal family, laid a wreath at the Cenotaph as part of the annual commemoration.

King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands also placed a wreath at the foot of the Whitehall memorial, following an invitation from the Queen to mark the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the Netherlands after the end of the Second World War.

For the first time Prince Harry laid his own wreath. He left operational service this year after a decade serving in the army including two tours of Afghanistan.

A proposal for the country's opposition politicians to lay wreaths together as part of trimming the duration of the event was scrapped after a Westminster backlash forced a rethink by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, which oversees ceremonial arrangements.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who is well known for his anti-war stance, wore a poppy after speculation he may have chosen not to and joined in with the National Anthem.

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This year marks a number of significant anniversaries in the UK's military history, including the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain.

Remembrance events took place across the country including in Blackpool where Sergeant Rick Clement, who lost both legs in a bomb blast in Afghanistan in 2010, laid a wreath. He had spent months planning to carry out the act of remembrance after having to learn to walk using prosthetic legs.

Before the event he said: "To take those few steps in their honour and all the others that paid the ultimate sacrifice, it will mean the world to me,"

At the Cenotaph, 88-year-old World War II veteran Robert Caldon remarked on the ceremony telling Sky News: "I remember coming here as a boy (and seeing it) as it is now.

"I've got a lot of respect for the Royal Family and I come down here regularly. You learn a lot by coming here; you learn a lot about respect and you couldn't ask for better."