LONDON, Nov 10, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - King Charles III led Britain in two minutes
of silence on Sunday to honour the country's war dead at a remembrance
service also attended by Catherine, Princess of Wales, as she returns to
royal duties after cancer treatment.

The king, who was also diagnosed with cancer this year, was among dignitaries
to lay wreaths at the Cenotaph memorial in central London after the nation
fell silent at 11:00 am (1100 GMT).

Crowds lined the Whitehall area of the capital as political leaders including
Prime Minister Keir Starmer, current and former members of the armed forces,
and war veterans paid their respects to Britons killed in the world wars and
other conflicts.

Catherine, wife of heir to the throne Prince William, watched the ceremony
from a government building balcony as she stepped up her return to royal
duties since ending chemotherapy in September.

The event came after she smiled and clapped alongside her husband Prince
William at the Festival of Remembrance commemorative concert on Saturday
night, the first major royal occasion she had attended since her treatment.

The events, two of the most important dates in the royal calendar, marked the
first time the princess had carried out two consecutive days of public
official engagements this year.

Buckingham Palace announced in February that Charles, 75, had been diagnosed
with an undisclosed cancer and would withdraw from public life to undergo
treatment.

The following month Kate, 42, revealed that she also had been diagnosed with
cancer and was undergoing chemotherapy.

Both have since made limited returns to public duties, with Charles recently
pausing his treatment while on tour in Australia and Samoa.

William said this week that the past year had been "brutal" and probably the
"hardest" of his life because of the twin diagnoses.

"Honestly, it's been dreadful," he told reporters on Thursday at the end of a
four-day visit to South Africa for his Earthshot prize initiative.

"So, trying to get through everything else and keep everything on track has
been really difficult."

Queen Camilla, Charles's wife, missed the remembrance events due to a chest
infection.