Nine Former Prime Ministers Join King Charles at Cenotaph Service
A record nine former prime ministers joined King Charles at the Cenotaph in London on November 8, 2026, while the number of surviving Second World War veterans fell to about a dozen. Andy Burnham attended for the first time, and Nigel Farage laid a wreath.
Nine former prime ministers joined King Charles at the national Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph in central London on November 8, 2026, the most ever to attend. Second World War veterans, about a dozen of them, outnumbered the ex-premiers for what could be the last time.
Andy Burnham took part in the ceremony for the first time as prime minister. He stood alongside Sir John Major, Sir Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, Lord Cameron, Baroness May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer.
Fewer veterans, more ex-premiers
The number of surviving Second World War service personnel at the service has fallen from 20 last year to about a dozen. The oldest was Jeffrey Brereton, who volunteered for the RAF in 1940 at 19 and served as a mechanic on Hurricane aircraft during the Battle of Britain.
Major, 83, is the oldest living former prime minister. Starmer is the most recent, and attended for the first time since leaving Downing Street in the summer. Truss, who resigned in 2022 after 49 days in office, was there for the fifth time.
The contrast with earlier decades is stark. When Blair stepped down in 2007, only two ex-prime ministers were alive: Major and Margaret Thatcher. In the 20th century the number of living former PMs never passed five.
Protecting former prime ministers is estimated to cost about £12.9m a year, because specialist police officers provide round-the-clock support.
Wreaths and spouses
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage laid a wreath for the first time. Only leaders whose parties hold six or more seats may take part, and defections from the Conservatives have taken Reform to eight MPs.
Farage said before the event he was "very honoured to have been asked". He questioned the scale of the political presence: "Whether the public want to see row upon row of politicians is perhaps a separate debate we can have another time."
Kemi Badenoch, Ed Davey, Shabana Mahmood and Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle also laid wreaths. Green party leader Zack Polanski attended with a white peace poppy pinned beside a traditional red one.
Spouses watched from a balcony overlooking Whitehall. Burnham's wife, Marie-France van Heel, was flanked by Victoria Starmer, Hugh O'Leary, Philip May, Sarah Brown and Akshata Murty.
Defence Secretary Wes Streeting appeared to be left behind at the Cenotaph, staying by the memorial for 10 minutes after the former prime ministers had left. A communication error caused him to miss his place in the crowd, according to The Telegraph's understanding. He later joined the King on Horse Guards Parade.
The silence and the march-past
The King, in a field marshal's uniform, laid the first wreath. Prince William joined him in the black uniform of a lieutenant colonel of the Household Cavalry. A soldier in the parade fainted minutes before the ceremony and was taken away on a stretcher.
Charles led the two-minute silence at 11am, broken only by a crying baby on Whitehall. A gun marked its end, and Royal Marines buglers sounded the Last Post.
About 10,000 veterans then marched past, with more than 300 armed forces and civilian organisations represented. Some older marchers were in wheelchairs, and one group rode mobility scooters. The crowd applauded.
The youngest marcher was eight-year-old Ronan Doncaster, who walked in honor of his father, a guardsman with the 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards who died in April 2024.
Services across the UK
In Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, Irish taoiseach Micheál Martin and Northern Ireland secretary Chris Bryant attended a memorial service. An IRA bomb killed 11 people there in 1987, and a 12th victim died years later after a coma.
Scotland's first minister, John Swinney, led tributes outside Edinburgh City Chambers. In Cardiff, first minister Rhun ap Iorwerth became the first Plaid Cymru leader to lead a wreath-laying at a Remembrance Day service.
