ROYAL REMEMBRANCE: CHARLES AND CAMILLA WEAR MASKS AT SERVICE

THE EARL and Countess of Wessex laid wreaths during an Armistice Day service at the National Memorial Arboretum, in Staffordshire.

Edward and Sophie were accompanied by dignitaries in a service marking the end of the First World War at 11am on November 11, 1918.

Attendance was limited by the impact of the pandemic, but about 200 members of the public gathered at the site yesterday for the two- minute silence.

The service, led by Bishop of Lichfield, the Right Rev Michael Ipgrave, was attended by defence minister Baroness Goldie, David Whimpenny, on behalf of the Royal British Legion, and the Lord Lieutenant of Staffordshire, James Leavesley.

Soprano Emily Haig performed Jerusalem and God Save The Queen, accompanied by the Band of the Scots Guards.

After laying a wreath at the main Armed Forces Memorial, Edward read from the Gospel of John, and the countess read a passage from Phillip Larkin’s poem MCMXIV ( 1914).

Although the public were unable to physically attend the ceremony, which was broadcast live online, pre- booked veterans and families were in the arboretum’s grounds to pay their respects.

Karen Hextall, 73, from Leicester, was remembering her late father Bernard Loomes.

He served in the Royal Navy aboard a destroyer escorting the Arctic convoys as they delivered vital supplies and munitions to the Soviet Union during the Second World War.

She was wearing a poppy made by her daughter, and caught the eye of Sophie who asked about it after the service.

Ms Hextall, whose grandparents served in the First World War, said her father was always in her thoughts, but “especially today”.

“I’m sure there’s lots of memories for people’s ancestors,” she added.

Richard Shouls, 60, served in the First Battalion The Parachute Regiment between 1976 and 1991.

Pointing up to the main memorial, whose Portland stone walls are inscribed with 16,000 names of the fallen, he said: “There’s guys on the walls from our battalion. Guys I parachuted with. So we come on a regular basis just to say hello to them, have a chat to them, toast a beer to them.”

PICTURE: AARON CHOWN/ GETTY IMAGES COVERING UP: Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall leave Westminster Abbey yesterday wearing contrasting face masks after attending a special socially- distanced service to mark Armistice Day and the centenary of the burial of the Unknown Warrior at the church.

PICTURES: PA/ GARY LONGBOTTOM/ GUZELIAN/ SWNS/ DAVID LINDSAY DIFFERENT WAYS TO MARK DAY: Clockwise from top, York Minster’s Canon Missioner the Rev Maggie McLean at the Minster; a service at Beverley war memorial; pupils Milena ( left) and Nell play the Last Post at Ashlands Primary School, Ilkley, with their teacher Helen Varley; people gather at the memorial in Leeds; Tadcaster Fire Station’s Remembrance Day tribute.