The Queen leads senior royals in Festival of Remembrance

The Royal Family have paid tribute to the UK's war dead at the annual Festival of Remembrance led by Her Majesty The Queen. Queen Elizabeth II arrived at London's Royal Albert Hall on Saturday (7 November) accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh and other senior members of the Royal Family including the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

The Queen was greeted by the president of the Royal British Legion, Vice-Admiral Peter Wilkinson, to the sound of a fanfare played by trumpeters from The Band of the Household Cavalry.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge arrived together, with Kate looking striking in a flattering black lace Dolce and Gabbana dress. The Duke of York and the Earl and Countess of Wessex, Prime Minister David Cameron and Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn were also in attendance at the service to remember those who have died in conflicts past and present.

A number of veterans addressed the attending guests in a moving service as they recounted their experiences of war and life after military action. In a video interview, veteran Paul Jacobs, who lost his sight after helping to save colleagues from a bomb blast in Afghanistan began with a citation. "I am now no longer a soldier, I am a wounded person that's got a whole life that wasn't planned out," he said poignantly.

Three generations of Gurkhas also spoke of their war time experiences, including Brigadier Bruce Jackman, who successfully led a jungle raid in Borneo for which he was awarded a Military Cross.

The Festival of Remembrance began in 1927, and was originally intended to honour the sacrifices of those who died in World War One, however it now includes tributes to the war dead from all past and more recent conflicts accroding to BBC News.

Singers Pixie Lott, Gregory Porter and Andrea Bocelli provided a musical interlude during the proceedings. Veteran rocker Rod Stewart also performed his own new composition of Way Back Home, to honour the World War Two generation.

Closing the evening, The Last Post rang out in the theatre, and during the minutes of silence, poppy leaves symbolically drifted from the ceiling.

The Queen will lead tributes at the traditional Remembrance Service at the Cenotaph in Westminster on Sunday. Sunday's service at the Cenotaph, which honours those killed in World Wars One and Two, as well as later conflicts, is going to be shorter than in previous years, in an effort to reduce the amount of time war veterans are made to stand.