Queen salutes the country's war dead

The Queen was last night due to be joined by other senior members of the Royal Family at a Festival of Remembrance in London.

The dead of two world wars and other more recent conflicts including the Falklands war and the war in Iraq were to be represented by thousands of red poppy petals falling from the ceiling of the Royal Albert Hall.

Thousands of ex-service men and women attend the annual act of remembrance. The Prime Minister, Tony Blair, was due to be present, along with the Duchess of Cornwall who was due to accompany the Prince of Wales to the event for the first time. A two-minute silence observed in honour of the war dead was to follow a service led by the Bishop of Manchester, the Right Rev Nigel McCulloch.

This morning 8,000 ex-servicemen and women are to march past the Cenotaph at the traditional Remembrance Sunday parade and service in Whitehall. The Queen will lead the wreath- laying after a two-minute silence observed as Big Ben strikes 11. She will be followed by other members of the Royal Family, Tony Blair and the leaders of the opposition.

The War Memorials Trust warned yesterday that hundreds of memorials are in a state of disrepair due to vandalism and neglect.