Second World War Veterans Outnumber Former Prime Ministers at the Cenotaph

Second World War veterans outnumbered former prime ministers at the National Service of Remembrance at the Cenotaph in central London on Sunday 8 November 2026. The Guardian reported that it may be the last time this happens.

Twelve Second World War veterans took part, a number that had dwindled to about a dozen. Nine former prime ministers attended, all of them at the ceremony. The service is held each year on Remembrance Sunday, the second Sunday in November, at the stone memorial on Whitehall. It began at 11am.

Andy Burnham took part in the Cenotaph service for the first time as prime minister. He stood alongside Boris Johnson, David Cameron, Gordon Brown, Liz Truss, Rishi Sunak, Theresa May, Tony Blair, John Major and Keir Starmer, according to the Independent. John Major, aged 83, is the oldest living former prime minister. Keir Starmer is the most recent to have held the office.

The King laid the first wreath, wearing the uniform of a field marshal, the highest rank in the British Army. A wreath is a ring of flowers and greenery laid at the foot of the memorial as a mark of remembrance. Prince William wore the black uniform of a lieutenant colonel of the Household Cavalry.

Only party leaders whose parties hold six or more seats in the House of Commons may lay a wreath, so the list of those laying them is set by that rule. Kemi Badenoch, Ed Davey, Shabana Mahmood and Lindsay Hoyle laid wreaths. Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, laid a wreath at the Cenotaph for the first time. Reform UK has grown to eight MPs after defections from the Conservatives over the past year.

Marching past the memorial were about 10,000 veterans, representing more than 300 armed forces and civilian organisations, according to the Guardian. The youngest marcher was eight-year-old Ronan Doncaster. He walked in honour of his father, a guardsman with the 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards who died in April 2024.

One of the oldest veterans on parade was Jeffrey Brereton. He volunteered for the RAF in 1940, aged 19, and served as a mechanic on Hurricane fighter aircraft during the Battle of Britain, the air campaign over Britain in the summer of 1940. He was the oldest Second World War veteran at the Cenotaph.

Remembrance was marked across the United Kingdom and Ireland too. Scottish First Minister John Swinney led tributes at a service outside Edinburgh City Chambers. In Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, Irish Taoiseach (prime minister) Micheál Martin and Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Bryant attended the memorial service.

For those watching at home, the BBC's live coverage of the Cenotaph was presented by Sophie Raworth and Petroc Trelawny from 10:30am to 11:30am, as the BBC had announced earlier in the month.

The march-past follows the National Act of Remembrance, the formal part of the service, and it takes place every year. The service itself has been held at the Cenotaph for more than 100 years.