London, Nov 09: Queen Elizabeth II today led a somber ceremony of remembrance for Britain's war dead, including more than 50 British troops killed this year in Iraq. The Queen joined thousands of gathered troops, veterans and civilians in the traditional two-minute silence, broken by a single artillery blast and the sound of royal marine buglers sounding the "Last Post".
The Queen, dressed in black, laid a wreath of red poppies on the cenotaph memorial in Whitehall, a central London thoroughfare lined with government buildings.
Prince Philip, Prince Andrew, Princess Anne and other royals also placed wreaths at the base of the simple portland stone monument, inscribed with the words "the glorious dead".
To the strains of Beethoven's funeral march, politicians led by Prime Minister Tony Blair, visiting Australian Prime Minister John Howard and opposition leader Michael Howard also laid wreaths. They were followed by representatives of the commonwealth of former British colonies and the armed forces.
The Bishop of London, the Right Rev. Richard Chartres, led a short prayer service, attended by Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist and Sikh religious leaders.
Later, about 10,000 mostly elderly veterans and war widows marched past the cenotaph, followed by delegations from civilian groups vital to the wartime "home front", including London Transport, the ambulance service and the post office. At the head of the procession, in an antique automobile, drove three surviving veterans of World War I.
British troops stationed in Iraq attended a simultaneous ceremony in the southern city of Basra.
Bureau Report