The queen, dressed in black, watched from a balcony as her son and heir Prince Charles laid a wreath of scarlet poppies on the Cenotaph war memorial in central London.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson, opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and other politicians paused campaigning for Britain's December 12 election to join the ceremony on a cold, sunny morning.

A military band played as the politicians, religious leaders and diplomats from the Commonwealth of former British colonies laid wreaths on the Portland stone monument inscribed with the words "The Glorious Dead."

The ceremony takes place every year on the nearest Sunday to the anniversary of World War I's end on November 11, 1918.

Australian Associated Press