Britain Remembers War Dead

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth led a solemn ceremony in London Sunday honoring Britain’s war dead, as her grandson, Prince William, flew into Afghanistan for memorial services there.

Thousands of veterans and onlookers gathered near central London’s Cenotaph war memorial to mark Remembrance Sunday, as the queen led a two-minute period of silence. The ceremonies are held every year on the Sunday closest to the November 11 date on which World War One ended in 1918.

A continent away, Prince William joined British troops for a memorial service at a base in southern Afghanistan’s Helmand province, where more than 100 British troops have been killed in fighting with Islamist insurgents.

WIlliam, a trained helicopter rescue pilot who is second in line to the throne, was accompanied by Defense Secretary Liam Fox. He visited front-line troops and toured the base’s medical center.

Prince William paid an unannounced visit to Afghanistan in 2008.

Britain has about 9,500 troops in Afghanistan — most of them in Helmand province — making it the second largest contributor to the NATO command. More than 340 British troops have been killed in the conflict.

Some information in this story was provided by AP and AFP.