King Charles Leads Royals in First Major Family Gathering Since Andrew's Titles Scandal
- - King Charles Leads Royals in First Major Family Gathering Since Andrew's Titles Scandal
Meredith KileNovember 9, 2025 at 4:05 AM
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Prince Charles at the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance on Nov. 8, 2025 -
King Charles and Queen Camilla attended the Festival of Remembrance at London's Royal Albert Hall on Saturday, Nov. 8
The King and Queen were joined by members of the royal family, including Kate Middleton and Prince George
The event marked the first major royal family gathering since the former Prince Andrew was stripped of his royal titles
King Charles and Queen Camilla led the royal family in attending the Festival of Remembrance at London's Royal Albert Hall, honoring soldiers from Britain and the Commonwealth who have died in combat.
The King and Queen were joined by members of the royal family, including Kate Middleton and Prince George, who made his debut appearance at the festival alongside his mom. Prince William, who just returned to the U.K. from a trip to Brazil, did not appear to attend the event.
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Queen Camilla and Prince Charles arrive at the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance
The royals all sported red poppy pins on their lapel, the U.K.'s symbol of Remembrance. The tradition, which began in 1921, is believed to have evolved from the poem "In Flanders Fields" by John McCrae.
The first verse of the poem reads, "In Flanders fields the poppies blow / Between the crosses, row on row, / That mark our place; and in the sky / The larks, still bravely singing, fly / Scarce heard amid the guns below."
Fittingly, the poem was written by McCrae in 1915 about a friend who died in World War I. Remembrance Day, which evolved from Armistice Day, is marked on Nov. 11 each year as World War I hostilities formally ended "at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month" of 1918.
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Prince Charles and Queen Camilla at the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance
In the U.S., Nov. 11 eventually became Veterans Day; however, Remembrance Day is more akin in tone to Americans' Memorial Day, which is observed in May.
The Festival of Remembrance marked the first major gathering of royal family members since the former Prince Andrew was stripped of his royal titles, including prince and the styling of "His Royal Highness."
After Buckingham Palace announced on Oct. 30 that the King had begun the formal process to strip his brother of all titles and honors, the move was made official on Nov. 3 by a legal document known as a Letters Patent.
Andrew stepped back from his public royal role in 2019 after discussing his connection to Jeffrey Epstein in a BBC interview. However, the scandal was renewed in recent weeks after the posthumous memoir of Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre, who died by suicide in April at 41, and leaked emails that confirmed Andrew was in touch with Epstein after he claimed he had cut ties with him.
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Kate Middleton and Prince George at the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance
Members of the royal family will gather again tomorrow for the National Service of Remembrance, also known as Remembrance Sunday, at The Cenotaph war memorial in London. The Cenotaph was unveiled by Queen Elizabeth's grandfather, King George V, on Nov. 11, 1920, as a tribute to the fallen soldiers from World War I. That same day, he laid the Unknown Warrior to rest in Westminster Abbey.
A Century of Remembrance author Laura Clouting previously told PEOPLE that Remembrance is "very personal" for the royal family, as a way to show their gratitude for "the loss of life basically occurring in their name — certainly in the name of the sovereign as the head of state."
The King made several military-related appearances in the weeks leading up to Remembrance Day.
On Oct. 27, he attended the unveiling of the first memorial dedicated to LGBTQ+ members of the British armed forces. King Charles met with veterans and laid a bouquet at the base of the memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire.
The bronze sculpture, titled "An Opened Letter," was designed to look like a crumpled piece of paper. It is made up of words found in letters that were used to out and disgrace closeted service members prior to 2000, when the U.K. lifted the ban on openly gay and lesbian citizens in the military.
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King Charles lays flowers at a new memorial dedicated to LGBT+ members of the British armed formers at the National Memorial Arboretum on Oct. 27, 2025
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Then, on Nov. 5, the King paid a visit to Chatfield Health Care, a medical center in Battersea that offers specialized services to veterans, where he got a laugh out of one former soldier at his own expense.
David Wiggins was being treated for a broken arm following a bike accident, and told the monarch that doctors installed three metal plates to help it heal.
"I've got endless plates and screws in my arm as well," the King replied, joking, "All that's left of you when you drop dead is 'Made in Switzerland.' "
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