Royal Family and veterans BANNED from singing the national anthem on Armistice Day due to lockdown rules
MEMBERS of the Royal Family and the Armed Forces will not be allowed to sing God Save The Queen on Armistice Day because of coronavirus rules.
The new guidelines will be in place at Westminster Abbey on November 11 due to the “potential for increased risk of transmission from aerosol and droplets”.
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A spokesman for Westminster Abbey said only members of the social-distanced choir will be able to sing, reports the Daily Mail.
The ruling comes after the Government banned “communal singing” due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Former Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan-Smith said: “If the Government and the British Legion limit Remembrance Sunday to the point that it becomes pointless, then we have to ask ourselves: what they did they die for?”
Only 30 veterans will be able to go the service at the Cenotaph on Whitehall this year, while all members of the public will be excluded.
The Met Police will put up screens around the service to stop sightseers.
The Department of Culture – based on advice from Public Health England – said that only the Choir of the Chapel Royal would be allowed to sing the national anthem and the hymn O God Our Help In Ages Past.
While singing will be banned at Westminster Abbey, the Royal Family will be able to sing God Save The Queen at the Cenotaph.
The rules remain unclear for ceremonies at other war memorial services around Britain.
Merchant Navy Association president Vivien Foster, who has laid a wreath at the Cenotaph for the past 20 years, criticised the rules.
She said: “The whole situation is farcical.”
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The Sun’s Poppy Star campaign urges Brits to save the Poppy Appeal as the Covid-19 pandemic means a vulnerable 12,000 out of 40,000 vendors cannot take part this year.
The campaign has been backed by the likes of Captain Tom Moore, David Beckham, Anthony Joshua, Gary Lineker, and veteran Ant Middleton.
You can do your bit for the British Legion by doing a poppy run (or walk) where you can get friends and family involved to raise some cash.
Or, you can help make up for the reduced number of collectors by requesting 20 free poppies from the RBL – giving them to friends and family in return for a donation.
Alternatively, you can make an online donation – no matter how large or small.
Show your support at: https://www.britishlegion.org.uk/get-involved/poppy-appeal
