The Princess of Wales Shares A Sonnet for Us All
This year, our Armistice Day Service of Remembrance featured ‘A Sonnet For Us All’, a poem developed to reflect themes close to the heart of Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales, who attended the service.
The specially commissioned poem was written and performed by Arboretum Poet-in-Residence, Arji Manuelpillai, and explores the importance of personal connections, experiences and bonds that are formed through military service.
‘A Sonnet For Us All’ captures the stories etched into the hundreds of memorials within the Arboretum, inviting people to listen, reflect and consider the emotion that was the inspiration for these sculptures.
Arji explains “I hope these words shine a light on the bonds and relationships that lay often hidden by the conflict. Her Royal Highness, the National Memorial Arboretum and I all believe that those quiet acts of care, the friendships that endure, and the sense of duty are the things that bind one generation to the next, that is what defines our Nation”.
