Queen Camilla visits poppy memorial for Victory in Europe Day celebrations
Britain's Queen Camilla stands next to Constable of the Tower of London Gordon Messenger as she views an installation of 30,000 ceramic poppies, taken from the artwork 'Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red' (2014), at Tower of London, commemorating the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) Day in London, Britain, May 6, 2025. REUTERS/Phil Noble
Britain's Queen Camilla holds a ceramic poppy next to Harrison Machin as she visits an installation of 30,000 ceramic poppies, taken from the artwork 'Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red' (2014), at Tower of London, commemorating the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) Day in London, Britain, May 6, 2025. REUTERS/Phil Noble
Queen Camilla with the Constable of the Tower of London, General Sir Gordon Messenger, during a visit to view 'The Tower Remembers', the ceramic poppy installation marking the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, at the Tower of London. Picture date: Tuesday May 6, 2025. Stefan Rousseau/Pool via REUTERS
Britain's Queen Camilla meets well-wishers during a visit to the National Gallery, in London, Britain, May 6, 2025. Chris Jackson/Pool via REUTERS
LONDON - The Tower of London was adorned with a flood of ceramic poppies as part of Britain's commemorations for the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day, in a display which was visited by Britain's Queen Camilla on Tuesday.
Poppies, the symbol of remembrance in Britain, were installed in their thousands to form a bright red cascade flowing from one corner of the 950-year-old White Tower onto the grass below.
"They become a metaphor for the spilled blood of all those who died in the war," designer Tom Piper said.
The government has planned a series of events in the run-up to the anniversary of Nazi Germany's unconditional surrender, which took effect on May 8, 1945.
Camilla visited the display, "planted" a poppy and met staff there.
On Monday, she joined her husband King Charles, heir to the throne Prince William and his family, along with veterans and crowds to watch a military parade and flypast outside Buckingham Palace.
The new commemorative display of 30,000 ceramic poppies follows a previous installation in 2014 which remembered lives lost during World War One. Named "Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red", it was visited by the late Queen Elizabeth.
The Tower of London, located on the north bank of the River Thames, is a Norman fortress which, like many parts of London, was bombed during World War Two.
The poppies, which were made by artist Paul Cummins, will be on display until November 11. REUTERS
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