The meaning of the red poppy that Harry wears at the EU Parliament

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are at the European Parliament in Brussels. Harry is wearing on his jacket the pin depicting a red poppy, worn very often by all the British Royals, including Queen Elizabeth and King Charles. The red poppy is the symbol of Remembrance Day or 'Poppy Day': the day on which the countries of the Commonwealth, on November 11, remember the fallen of the First World War and, by extension, the dead of all wars. It is a day of remembrance. Over the years, those who have worn it in memory of Canada's fallen include Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. And the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton. Since 1922, in Richmond, Surrey, the Poppy Factory, a charity company, has produced about 36 million artificial poppies each year, with which it builds 80,000 wreaths. The poppies worn by the entire Royal Family come precisely from the Poppy Factory. The factory began its activity by giving jobs to war veterans. The poppy was chosen as the symbol of Remembrance Day because it is the first flower to bloom on the battlefields, as De André also wrote in 'La canzone di Piero': "Dormi sepolto in un campo di grano/non è la rosa non è il tulipano/che ti fan veglia dall'ombra dei fossi/ma sono mille papaveri rossi..." ("You sleep buried in a field of wheat/it is not the rose, it is not the tulip/that keep watch over you from the shadow of the ditches/but a thousand red poppies..."). Moreover, every year in the United Kingdom a jewel poppy, created by the most prestigious goldsmiths across the Channel, is auctioned during the Poppy Ball and the proceeds go to the Royal British Legion. The Duchess of Cornwall, Camilla Parker, also chose to pin on her dress in New Delhi not an artificial poppy but a jewel pin depicting a stylized poppy. Still etched in the minds of Londoners and the many tourists who visited London in 2014 is the installation Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red, dedicated to the English soldiers who fell in the First World War, which planted in the moat of the Tower of London 888,246 ceramic poppies, one for each soldier who died, later sold for 25 pounds each, with the money given to charity. All rights reserved © Copyright ANSA