World Remembers End of World War I

For two minutes every 11th of November at 11:00 am, most combatant nations of the First World War pause to reflect on the end of the said conflict in 1918 and the millions who died because of it. 

The United Kingdom and France are two of the nations that primarily remember its war dead and veterans of all conflicts since 1918.

Princess Kate Returns to Public Duties

British commemorations began in central London over the weekend with the Festival of Remembrance on Saturday (Nov. 9). 

Of notable appearance is Catherine, Princess of Wales, who has been diagnosed with cancer earlier this year alongside his father-in-law, British monarch King Charles III. 

The BBC reported that senior members of the British royal family were present in the event, with the exception of Queen Camilla, who, according to Buckingham Palace, is recovering from a “chest infection”. 

It is understood that Catherine announced the end of her chemotherapy in September, but also stressed that her road to recovery would be long. 

The Festival of Remembrance is a program organized by the Royal British Legion and normally held at the Royal Albert Hall to remember all British servicemen and women, and is held on the Saturday before Nov. 11, with the next day designated as “Remembrance Sunday.”

King Charles Leads Remembrance Sunday

The next day (Sunday, Nov. 10), Charles led the UK in the official Remembrance Sunday service at The Cenotaph in central London. 

After the king and the rest of the senior members of the British royal family, as well as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and senior political, civil, and religious leaders, laid their wreaths in the empty memorial tomb, veterans from previous wars and other military operations marched past The Cenotaph and the Foreign Office building and offered their own poppy wreaths. 

Down the parade line, Prince William receives the salute of the parading veterans on behalf of his father. 

Remembrance Sunday is observed on the Sunday before Nov. 11 and was established during the Second World War out of necessity. It has since been a separate tradition aside from Armistice Day itself.

UK PM Visits Paris, Talks with Macron on Ukraine, Trump

On Monday (Nov. 11), Starmer flew to Paris to commemorate Armistice Day with French President Emmanuel Macron, making him the first British prime minister to attend services in the French capital since Winston Churchill was invited by Charles de Gaulle in 1944. 

Starmer’s visit to Paris was also to commemorate the 120th anniversary of the “Entente Cordiale,” a treaty signed by the UK and France in 1904. 

“I am honored to be in Paris to stand united with President Macron in tribute to the fallen of the First World War who made the ultimate sacrifice for the freedom we enjoy today,” Starmer said. 

The British prime minister also announced that the government would allocate funds to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War next year. 

RFI reported that Macron and Starmer would also discuss more modern conflicts, such as the wars in Ukraine and in Gaza. This was in response to a Washington Post report where US President-elect Donald Trump urged Russian president Vladimir Putin to not escalate the war in Ukraine. 

Meanwhile, Ypres’s Menin Gate in Belgium also held a commemorative ceremony on Monday. Aside from Nov. 11, the Last Post Association holds nightly ceremonies where buglers play the “Last Post” as the city’s gesture of gratitude to the Entente soldiers who passed through on their way to the Western Front. 

US Veterans Day Celebrations

Across the Atlantic, the United States calls the Nov. 11 commemoration “Veterans Day,” a celebration dedicated to living and deceased US military veterans from all conflicts since the First and Second World Wars to distinguish it from “Memorial Day,” which commemorates American servicemen and women who were killed in the line of duty every last Monday of May.

CBS reported that there would be a Veterans Day parade in New York City beginning midday, Eastern Time (afternoon, UTC), with certain roads in downtown Manhattan closed off for the parade. 

The parade’s grand marshal this year is Dakota Meyer, a US Marine sergeant and the one of the youngest Medal of Honor recipients in US military history. Meyer is the ex-son-in-law of former Alaska governor Sarah Palin through her daughter Bristol. 

As Veterans Day is a public holiday, government offices are closed, while banks and other establishments across the country would either be operating limited hours or closed for the day. 

Meanwhile, the US Department of Veterans Affairs provided a list of establishments that would offer discounts and deals for active-duty military personnel, veterans, and their families.