Every November, members of the British royal family gather to choose a meaningful accessory: a red poppy pin.

Kate Middleton, Prince William, Meghan Markle, Prince Harry, King Charles, Queen Camilla and other members of the royal family have historically worn badges each November; the Duke and Duchess of Sussex even wear the badge after stepping back as working members of the royal family in 2020. When royals step out for Remembrance next Sunday, November 10, including the Princess of Wales, it’s likely they’ll all be wearing the pin pinned to their outfits.

Since 1921, the poppy has been used to commemorate military members who died in wars. The red flower is most often associated with the United Kingdom and Commonwealth countries due to Remembrance Day on 11 November, and the poppy symbol is believed to originate from John McCrae’s poem “In Flanders Fields”, which describes World War I. The stanza is as follows:

Poppies fly in the fields of Flanders

Among the crosses, row by row,

It points to our place and the sky

Skylarks still fly bravely singing

A faint sound was heard among the guns below.

Poppy needles in the UK, Royal British Legion to help raise money for veterans. Although less common, the United States also uses poppies – the Veterans of Foreign Wars conducted the first nationwide distribution of commemorative poppies before Memorial Day in 1922, and the American Legion Auxiliary runs both Memorial Day in May and in exchange for donations at Veterans giving out paper poppies. day in November.

November has historically seen members of the royal family attend a variety of events honoring military personnel, culminating this year with the Remembrance Sunday (otherwise known as the National Remembrance Service) on 10 November. The family will gather for a ceremony at the Cenotaph war memorial in Whitehall, London, where they will attend a solemn ceremony with a two-minute silence, the laying of poppy wreaths and a ceremonial march past thousands of veterans.

Remembrance Sunday takes place annually on the second Sunday in November and is a national commemoration commemorating members of the Armed Forces who have lost their lives in conflict or war in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth.

Princess Kate, 42, who has been gradually returning to royal duties since announcing she had completed chemotherapy on September 9, is expected to be at the Remembrance Sunday service this weekend. In 2022, Kate shared a special moment with a boy named Akeem during her visit. Colham Manor Children’s Center On November 9, Kate took on the honor on behalf of the Maternal Mental Health Alliance, of which she serves as patron.

“My name is Catherine,” she told Akeem as she knelt down to speak face to face with the then-3-year-old after the child asked her what her name was. “Okay,” Akeem replied, prompting laughter from the assembled crowd.

After Akeem showed interest in Kate’s poppy pin, he offered to give it to her. “Do you know what this is for?” he asked as he unpinned his jacket. “To commemorate all the soldiers who died in the war. That’s it – this is for you.

Meghan, 43, and Harry, 40, continued to wear the symbolic accessory even after moving from the UK to the US in 2020. Meghan in 2021 I was wearing a poppy pin talking New York Times DealBook Summit is in November. That same month, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex wore poppy pins during a dazzling appearance. Salute to the Freedom Gala.

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Meghan and Harry last year both were carrying poppy needles During a surprise trip to support Navy SEALs and Meghan in San Diego I wore the badge again while having lunch with her friend Kelly McKee Zajfen at Pane e Vino in Santa Barbara.

This year, as the Princess of Wales’s attendance increases, so does Queen Camilla’s attendance as she recovers from a chest infection. Palace said so The Queen hoped to attend Remembrance events this weekend for the royal family who missed the Remembrance event at Westminster Abbey on 7 November.