King Charles III leads a national memorial service honoring those who died serving the UK

By DANICA KIRKA
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — King Charles III has led a national memorial service honoring those who died serving the United Kingdom. The event passed without incident despite fears that 0tensions surrounding the Israel-Hamas war might disrupt the ceremony. London’s Metropolitan Police Service deployed more than double the usual number of officers to safeguard the event and put a 24-hour guard around the national war memorial, known as the Cenotaph, to ensure it wasn’t defaced. The annual service, during which thousands of veterans paraded past the Cenotaph, came after a week of debate over calls to cancel a massive pro-Palestinian march on Saturday out of respect for the weekend’s memorial events. While the march Saturday was largely peaceful, police clashed with far-right counter-protesters.