Members of the British Royal Family and the Armed Forces will be prohibited from singing the national anthem when they congregate at Westminster to mark Armistice Day as part of a broader government ban on “communal singing,” according to The Daily Mail.
Reportedly, government rules on COVID-19 will mean that singing at the events, other than by a socially distanced choir, will not be allowed “because of the potential for increased risk of transmission from aerosol or droplets.”
Armistice day is held every year on 11 November to mark the armistice agreement signed between the Allies of World War I and Germany marking the cessation of hostilities in the Western Front. The UK has honoured its war dead on this day since the first event was held on 11 November, 1919.
According to The Mail, the move to silence the singing has been slammed as “farcical” by a number of veterans groups.
Reportedly, the ban on singing the national anthem, God Save the Queen, had initially included the main event at the Cenotaph, where the Queen and members of the Royal Family, as well as political party leaders, are traditionally in attendance and lay wreaths at the foot of the monument. However, fearing public anger against the prevention of the Royal Family from signing God Save the Queen in front of the Queen herself, the government has now reportedly lifted the exemption on the event at the Cenotaph.
Moreover, members of the public will be prevented from attending this years events, as has always been the case, and the police will instead stand up large screen at either end of Whitehall in order to prevent people from trying to get close to the actual event.
