Queen honours war dead on Remembrance Sunday

Queen Elizabeth II led the royal family, political leaders and veterans in a solemn service to honor Britain’s war dead on Sunday, as Britons across the nation paused for a moment’s silent reflection to mark Remembrance Sunday.

The monarch laid the first wreath of red poppies at the foot of central London’s Cenotaph war memorial in an annual service to remember all those killed in past and present conflicts.A hush fell over the capital as those gathered observed a two-minute silence at 11 AM to commemorate the end of World War I on Nov 11, 1918 -- when guns on the Western Front fell silent on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.

Remembrance Sunday is held each year on the second Sunday in November. Later, crowds lining the streets of Whitehall cheered as some 8,500 veterans and servicemen and women marched past to music played by military bands. Remembrance events this year are especially poignant because 2016 marks the centenary of the Battle of the Somme and the Battle of Jutland.