The reason members of the British royal family wear poppy pins every November

 

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It is believed that the poppy symbol originated in In Flanders Fields, a poem by John McCrae about World War I. It begins with the lines:

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

In the UK, the Royal British Legion sells poppy pins to raise money for veterans. These pins are generally worn around England’s Remembrance Day and at other events that honour military personnel.

 

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Though not very common, the US also uses the symbol. The Veterans of Foreign Wars conducted the first nationwide distribution of remembrance poppies before Memorial Day in 1922, and the American Legion Auxiliary distributes paper poppies in exchange for donations around Memorial Day and Veterans Day.

Last year, Queen Elizabeth could not participate in Remembrance Day service due to a sprained back. She was quoted by a royal source to be “deeply disappointed,” as she regarded the moving ceremony as “one of the most significant engagements of the year.”

Also, it is speculated that the social media accounts of the royal family will change their display picture photos to mark the solemn occasion, as the royals have done in years past around Remembrance Day. While King Charles, Queen Camilla, and other royals share the same pages on Twitter and Instagram, Kate and Prince William have separate accounts.

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