by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2024

Members of the British Royal Family attend the National Service of Remembrance at The Cenotaph in London on Remembrance Sunday on the second Sunday in November or the Sunday nearest to November 11, the anniversary of the Armistice,  the end of hostilities in World War I on November 11, 1918. Remembrance Sunday commemorates the contribution of British and Commonwealth military men and women in World War I, World War II, and later conflicts. Many countries changed the name from Armistice Day, with member states of the Commonwealth of Nations adopting Remembrance Day and the United States opting for Veterans Day.

What is the Cenotaph?

A cenotaph is a monument erected in memory of a deceased person whose body is buried elsewhere. The word comes from the Greek kenotaphion, kenos “empty” + taphos “tomb”. The Cenotaph is a war memorial on Whitehall in London, England. Whitehall is the street recognized as the center of the Government of the United Kingdom. Along Whitehall are many government departments and ministries, including the Ministry of Defence and the Cabinet Office.

In 1919, British architect Edwin Landseer Lutyens was approached by Prime Minister David Lloyd George and Sir Alfred Mond, First Commissioner of Works, to design a temporary cenotaph that would stand on Whitehall to be part of Peace Day celebrations in July 1919. Although the temporary cenotaph was intended to stand for only one week, it was so popular that Lutyens was asked to design a permanent one.

The Cenotaph is made from Portland stone. The design guides the eye upwards, in a back-and-forth motion, from the plinth to the words “The Glorious Dead” (referring to those who lost their lives in World War I and World War II and later conflicts), the flags on the sides, the dates of the wars, and the laurel wreaths (carved by the sculptor Francis Derwent Wood) and finally to the empty tomb on top. The Cenotaph is 35 feet/11 meters high and 15 by 9 feet/4.5 by 2.7 meters at the base.

The unveiling of The Cenotaph on November 11, 1920. The gun carriage bearing the casket of The Unknown Warrior can be seen on the left.

The Cenotaph was unveiled on November 11, 1920, the same day The Unknown Warrior was given a full state funeral and interred in the Nave of Westminster Abbey, only a few feet from the entrance. The casket of The Unknown Warrior was placed on a gun carriage and drawn by six black horses through the streets of London lined with large and silent crowds. When the gun carriage reached Whitehall, it stopped at The Cenotaph, which was then unveiled by King George V. The gun carriage was then followed by King George V, members of the Royal Family, and the government ministers to Westminster Abbey for the state funeral of The Unknown Warrior.

What happens at the National Service of Remembrance?

A military band at the 2023 Service of Remembrance

The ceremony begins at 10:36 AM with a music program that has remained unchanged since 1930.

• Rule, Britannia! by Thomas Arne – A patriotic song, originating from the poem “Rule, Britannia” by James Thomson
• Heart of Oak by William Boyce – Words by the 18th-century English actor David Garrick. It is the official march of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom, Royal Canadian Navy, Royal New Zealand Navy, and formerly the Royal Australian Navy.
• The Minstrel Boy – Traditional Irish air – Words by Thomas Moore in remembrance of his friends from Trinity College, Dublin who were killed during the Irish Rebellion of 1798. It is associated with the Irish Army and the traditionally Irish regiments in the army of the United Kingdom.
• Men of Harlech (Rhyfelgyrch Gwŷr Harlech) – Traditional Welsh air – Words describe events during the seven-year siege of Harlech Castle between 1461 and 1468.
• The Skye Boat Song – Traditional Scottish air – The song tells how Bonnie Prince Charlie, disguised as a serving maid, escaped in a small boat after the defeat of his Jacobite rising of 1745, with the aid of Flora MacDonald. The lyrics were written by Sir Harold Boulton, 2nd Baronet.
• Isle of Beauty – Music by T.A. Rawlings – Words from the poem by Thomas Haynes Bayly – The phrase “Absence makes the heart grow fonder” comes from the poem.
• David of the White Rock (Dafydd y Garreg Wen) – Music and words attributed to David Owen
• Oft in the Stilly Night – arrangement by John Andrew Stevenson of older Scottish air, words by Thomas Moore (who also wrote the words to The Minstrel Boy above.
• Flowers of the Forest – Scottish folk tune – Commemorates the defeat of the Scottish army of James IV, King of Scots at the Battle of Flodden in September 1513.
• Nimrod from Enigma Variations by Edward Elgar – Nimrod, was an Old Testament patriarch described as “a mighty hunter before the Lord”

Music played during the actual National Service of Remembrance

• Dido’s Lament from the opera Dido and Aeneas by Henry Purcell – The final scene of the opera Dido and Aeneas when Dido, the Queen of Carthage, rejects her lover Aeneas for having thought of leaving her.
• The Supreme Sacrifice – Music by Charles Harris – Words were taken from a poem by Sir John Stanhope Arkwright
• Solemn Melody by Henry Walford Davies, originally for organ and orchestra
• Last Post – A bugle call used at Commonwealth military funerals and ceremonies commemorating those killed in war. The “Last Post” call originally signaled that the final sentry post had been inspected, and the camp was secure for the night.
• Beethoven’s Funeral March No. 1 – Formerly attributed to Ludwig van Beethoven but now known to have been composed by his contemporary Johann Heinrich Walch.
• O God, Our Help in Ages Past – Hymn by Isaac Watts that paraphrases the 90th Psalm
• The Rouse – A bugle call most often associated with the military in Commonwealth countries. It is commonly played following Last Post at military services and is often mistakenly referred to as Reveille.
• God Save the King – The National Anthem of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

King Charles III leads The Prince of Wales, and The Princess Royal to The Cenotaph during the 2023 Service of Rembrance

As the band plays Dido’s Lament by Henry Purcell, the clergy led by a cross-bearer and the Choir of the Chapel Royal, proceeds to The Cenotaph. The service is led by the Dean of the Chapel Royal, usually the Bishop of London. During the playing of Solemn Melody by Henry Walford Davies, politicians, high commissioners, religious leaders from many faiths, and humanists representing the non-religious assemble. All stand at attention in silence as the Royal Family emerges.

As Big Ben strikes 11:00 AM, the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery fires a single-shot salute from World War I era guns on Horse Guards Parade. Two minutes’ silence is then observed. The silence represents the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918 when the Armistice, an agreement to end the fighting of World War I as a prelude to peace negotiations, began at 11:00 AM November 11, 1918. This silence is ended by Gunners of the Royal Horse Artillery firing a gun salute. Royal Marines buglers then sound the Last Post.

The first wreath is laid by The Monarch on behalf of the nation, followed by other members of the Royal Family laying wreaths. The Queen, The Princess of Wales, and other members of the Royal Family watch the ceremony from the Foreign Office balcony.

Queen Camilla and The Princess of Wales watch the 2023 National Service of Remembrance

The Prime Minister, other government leaders, former living Prime Ministers, and representatives of the military

The band plays Beethoven’s Funeral March No.1 by Johann Heinrich Walch as the Prime Minister lays a wreath. Other Commonwealth leaders also lay wreaths if they are present, along with the Leader of the Opposition, the leaders of major political parties, the Speaker of the House of Commons, the Lord Speaker, the Foreign Secretary, the Home Secretary, Commonwealth High Commissioners, former living United Kingdom prime ministers, representatives from the Royal Navy, Royal Army, Royal Air Force, the Merchant Navy, and the civilian emergency services.

The clergy conducting the religious service

The Dean of the Chapel Royal, usually the Bishop of London, conducts a short religious service. The hymn O God Our Help In Ages Past is sung and The Lord’s Prayer is recited.

The Rouse is played by the buglers, followed by the singing of the National Anthem. The Monarch and the other members of the Royal Family salute The Cenotaph and depart.

• The Royal Family YouTube Channel: The King Leads The National Service of Remembrance in London

After the National Service of Remembrance

The Veterans Parade in 2023

As the bands play marches and popular World War I era and World War II era songs, a parade of veterans march past The Cenotaph, saluting as they pass and laying wreaths at The Cenotaph. The veterans’ parade includes members of the Reserve Forces, volunteers from St John Ambulance, paramedics from the London Ambulance Service, and veterans from World War II, Korea, the Falklands, the Persian Gulf, Kosovo, Bosnia, Northern Ireland, Iraq, Afghanistan, and other past conflicts.

The veterans march back to Horse Guards Parade, where a member of the Royal Family takes their salute in front of the Guards Memorial which commemorates the war dead from the Guards Division and related units during World War I and the war dead of the Household Division during World War II and other conflicts since 1918.

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Works Cited

• Hardman, Robert. (2007). A Year With The Queen. Simon and Schuster.
• History of the Cenotaph. English Heritage. (n.d.). https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/the-cenotaph/history/
• National Service of Remembrance. (2023). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Service_of_Remembrance
• The Cenotaph. (2024). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cenotaph
• What is the Cenotaph?. Imperial War Museums. (n.d.). https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/what-is-the-cenotaph