The traditional Remembrance Sunday ceremony attended by the Royal Family and veterans is to be shortened for the 89-year-old Queen and ageing veterans.
These changes to the ceremony will mean that members of the Royal Family and some politicians lay their wreaths together, instead of separately.
The ceremony will be shortened to help The Queen, who is 89, and veterans. Defence Images
Prime Minister David Cameron will, however, lay his alone.
A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: “The format for this year’s Service of Remembrance at the Cenotaph on November 8 has been reviewed.”
Former SNP leader Alex Salmond told The Times: “The Remembrance Day service has been supported on an all-party basis since just after the First World War.
“I would advise the Government and everyone else connected that it is not in anyone’s interest to tamper with it.
“It is the ceremony with the utmost solemnity and dignity. People thinking about this should also remember it is about service personnel and the families of the fallen, and keep that uppermost in mind.”
The laying of wreaths at the Cenotaph. Defence Images
Recent years have seen The Queen scale back her duties, though she still works full-time. Long-haul travel has been ruled out for the Monarch, but she will attend the next Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Malta next month.
Prince Charles and Camilla have been doing a lot of the long-distance travel, including Canada and Australasia, where they will be touring in November.
Just last year, Her Majesty was unable to climb a set of steps during a service for the Order of the Bath; The Prince of Wales had to step in, as it was thought the steps were too steep for the Monarch, dressed in a long cloak and heavy regalia.
Veterans of WWII are now into their 80s, if not older, and many have mobility problems, or are in wheelchairs. November’s cold and often damp weather could be another factor, posing a threat to elderly people’s health.
