The main celebration, as every year, took place along London’s Whitehall Avenue, where around 10,000 people passed. veteran. On time at 11:00 Big Ben struck 11 times, initiating a two-minute silence, after which Charles III laid a wreath at The Cenotaph, a memorial to Britain’s fallen soldiers.

Wreaths were also presented by his eldest son, Prince William, the king’s sister, Princess Anne, his youngest brother, Prince Edward, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and opposition leader Keir Starmer, as well as representatives of Commonwealth countries and the armed forces. All living British prime ministers took part in the celebrations.

Remembrance Day, which falls on November 11, the anniversary of the end of World War I, and Remembrance Sunday, celebrated on the second Sunday in November, are among the most important holidays in the British calendar.

Its most characteristic element is the symbolic red poppy flower, originally made of paper, and now often also attached to clothing; Proceeds from sales are donated to needy former soldiers and their families.

But this year, the celebrations were largely overshadowed by riots that broke out yesterday during the weekly solidarity march for Palestine. The first action took place just before midday near The Cenotaph, where police clashed with supporters of far-right groups, who – they claimed – had come to London to defend the war monument from desecration by pro-Palestinian marchers.

Police arrested 126 people on Saturday, of which at least 92 were participants in the counter-protest, but the figures are not final, as today it was announced that they were actively looking for several people who carried anti-Semitic banners during the pro-protest. -Palestinian marchers or have writings glorifying prohibited laws on their clothing in the UK, the Palestinian organization Hamas.

No major protests are planned in London today, although a police operation involving 1,375 officers will continue.