Huw Edwards, the BBC newsreader who announced Queen Elizabeth II’s death to the nation, has paid tribute to Her Majesty’s “service and duty” during a ceremony in London.
At the Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall on Saturday evening (12 November), Huw Edwards said the Queen had symbolised “completely” the values of service and duty – which he described as the “watchwords” of military life.
King Charles III attended the ceremony alongside several senior members of the royal family, including Camilla, Queen Consort, the Prince and Princess of Wales, the Princess Royal, and the Earl and Countess of Wessex.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was also in attendance, and sat in a box to the left of the royals alongside his wife Akshata Murty, while Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer sat in a separate box to the right with his wife Lady Victoria.
Hosting the annual Royal British Legion event, Edwards said: “It’s been a year where talk of service and duty has come to the fore. Service and duty are the watchwords of military life. They always have been.
“And no individual symbolised those watchwords more correctly, more completely than Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces, patron of the Royal British Legion for a remarkable period spanning eight decades.”
The evening also featured a performance by tenor Andrea Bocelli with his son Matteo and daughter Virginia, as well as a version of Hallelujah by EastEnders actress Shona McGarty.
The King and Queen Consort clapped along with other members of the royal family at various points throughout the event including the arrival of the Chelsea Pensioners to the packed venue.
The royals joined the crowd to sing Jerusalem after the remembrance book, containing the names of British war dead, was brought into the centre of the hall.
Sunday (13 November) will mark the first time the King has led the nation in remembrance at the Cenotaph as monarch.
The Queen, who died nine weeks ago at the age of 96, considered Remembrance Sunday, which commemorates the war dead, one of the most important engagements in the royal calendar.
Additional reporting by PA
