UK Armistice Day 2025: Kate leads silence, William's note
At 11:00 GMT on Tuesday 11 November 2025, the UK paused for the two‑minute silence. The Princess of Wales led the act at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire, Queen Camilla travelled by train to London Paddington for the ‘Poppies to Paddington’ service, and the Prince of Wales shared a message with schoolchildren, stressing that remembrance is for everyone. The silence at 11am is a tradition kept each year to mark the end of the First World War.
If you were watching the Arboretum ceremony, you saw Catherine step forward to lay a wreath at the centre of the Armed Forces Memorial, pause in quiet reflection, and return to her seat among veterans and families. It was her first time attending this Armistice Day service at the Arboretum, a moment that connects national remembrance with personal learning for all of us.
Words had a role today too. A specially commissioned poem, A Sonnet For Us All, by the Arboretum’s poet‑in‑residence Arji Manuelpillai, was read at the service. Manuelpillai says the piece invites people to listen, reflect and carry love forward-a theme that aligns with the Princess of Wales’s focus on service and compassion. For teachers, poetry like this gives students a way to think about memory beyond dates and battles.
In London, Queen Camilla joined Great Western Railway’s ‘Poppies to Paddington’ initiative, boarding the 09:28 from Chippenham alongside wreaths gathered from more than 60 stations. On Platform 1 at Paddington she laid a wreath after the Last Post and the 11am silence, with the Military Wives Choir performing. A specially liveried train carried the names of 2,545 GWR workers lost in the Great War-another prompt to connect the national story with the people behind it.
Prince William’s video, played to the Royal British Legion’s Remembrance Assembly for ages 9–14, encouraged young people to see remembrance as active learning-about empathy, resilience and responsibility. His reminder that “remembrance is for everyone” is a useful line to share in class or at home when you talk about why we wear poppies or hold silence together.
Remembrance is international, and that helps us teach context. In Paris, President Emmanuel Macron led the annual 11 November ceremony, laying a wreath and rekindling the flame at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier; in Brisbane, the Princess Royal laid a wreath at Gallipoli Barracks and met serving personnel and families. Later today, senior royals are expected at Windsor Castle for a reception honouring veterans of the war in the Pacific as part of this year’s VJ Day 80 commemorations.
What this means, simply put: Armistice Day marks the Armistice that took effect at the “eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month” in 1918. We observe two minutes’ silence at 11am on 11 November, and again on Remembrance Sunday, to remember those who died in conflict and those who served. In the United States, 11 November is Veterans Day-another chance to talk with learners about how countries remember.
A quick explainer on poppies for your classroom or dinner table. The red poppy, distributed by the Royal British Legion, supports the Armed Forces community and their families. Some people choose a white poppy, from the Peace Pledge Union, to remember all victims of war and to show a commitment to peace. Others wear a purple poppy to remember animals in war, or a black poppy to mark the contributions of Black, African and Caribbean communities. There isn’t a “correct” way to wear a poppy-the Legion says it’s a personal choice, and the most important thing is to wear it with pride if you choose to wear one.
If you’re learning or teaching today, try this: hold a short silence, then invite everyone to name a story they want to carry forward-someone in their family, a local memorial, or a line from today’s poem. Compare how the UK, France and Australia mark the day, and ask what the poppy means to you. We don’t have to agree on symbols to agree on respect. That’s the lesson we pass on.