UK army pensioners remember queen who was commander in chief

By DANICA KIRKA
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — The British army veterans known as the Chelsea Pensioners have bid farewell to their commander in chief, Queen Elizabeth II. The retired soldiers traded their famous scarlet tunics for somber navy blue as they gathered Tuesday in the quadrangle of the Royal Hospital Chelsea for a service of remembrance. Men and women from the company of veterans who live at the hospital stood as straight as they were able as a bugler played “The Last Post,” a tradition of British military funerals. A few hankies appeared when the assembly sang the hymn “Abide With Me.’’ But the tears flowed with “God Save the King,’’ a line the pensioners hadn’t sung for 70 years.