King Charles wears ten medals and the illustrious Order of Merit as he tearfully listens to D-Day veterans’ recollections at 80th anniversary event in Portsmouth
King Charles today proudly displayed his string of medals while in charge Royal family to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day in Portsmouth.
His Majesty wore ten medals, including the mark the coronation from his mother in 1953 and his own accession to the throne last year.
Commemorative medals Queen Elizabeth II‘s four jubilees – starting with silver and ending with platinum – were also on the king’s chest.
Around his neck hung the Order of Merit, an illustrious group with only 24 members.
Above his medals were insignia representing the Royal British Legion, the Remembrance Poppy and Charles’ status as a veteran of the armed forces.
King Charles proudly displayed his array of medals today as he led the Royal Family to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day in Portsmouth. Above: 1.) Order of Merit, 2) Armed Forces Veteran Badge; 3.) Royal British Legion Badge; 4.) Poppy Badge; 5.) Order of the Queen; 6.) Coronation Medal of Queen Elizabeth II; 7.) Silver Jubilee Medal; 8.) Gold Jubilee Medal 9.) Diamond Jubilee Medal 10.) Platinum Jubilee Medal; 11.) Long Service and Good Conduct Medal; 12.) Canadian Armed Forces Decoration; 13.) New Zealand Commemorative Medal; 14.) New Zealand Defense Forces Award
Prince William also wore his own medal collection. Above: 1) Grand Master of the Most Honorable Order of the Bath; 2) Golden Jubilee Medal; 3) Diamond Jubilee Medal; 4) Platinum Jubilee Medal; 5) King’s Coronation Medal
Prince William also wore his own medal collection.
Among them was the Grand Master of the Most Honorable Order of the Bath around his neck; Gold, diamond and platinum jubilee medals and the King’s Coronation Medal.
The 24 living members of the Order of Merit include artist David Hockney and former Australian Prime Minister John Howard.
The award is a personal gift from the Sovereign.
Other members include Ghanaian-British architect David Adjaye, who designed the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, and Canadian Margaret MacMillan, professor of history at the University of Toronto and professor emeritus of international history at the University of Oxford.
Both the King and Queen appeared overcome with emotion as Charles paid tribute to the ‘courage, resilience and solidarity’ of veterans in Portsmouth.
Addressing the crowd, Charles said: “The stories of courage, resilience and solidarity that we have heard today and throughout our lives cannot help but move us, inspire us and remind us of what we owe to that great generation in wartime.
‘It is our privilege to hear those testimonies, but our role is not merely passive.
Earlier, William praised the “bravery” of those who took part in the D-Day landings and read an extract from a letter from Captain Alastair Bannerman of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment.
Charles and Camilla on stage at the memorial event on Southsea Common in Portsmouth
“It is our duty to ensure that we and future generations do not forget their service and their sacrifice in replacing tyranny with freedom.”
The King’s appearance at the Portsmouth event was his first public speech and his most high-profile appearance since his cancer diagnosis.
As Charles spoke, Charles faced lighthearted conditions on stage, his speech notes blowing around in his hand.
The King praised the “truly collective effort” of those on the home front during the Second World War and said Britain today is “eternally” indebted to those who served.
After the event, Charles met with 21 veterans, one of whom joked with him and revealed that he had served on the same ship as the king’s father, the late Duke of Edinburgh.
Keith Whiting, 98, who served in the Royal Marines, said: ‘It was great, we shared two or three jokes, I served on board HMS Ramillies when Prince Philip was there so we chatted about one or two things.
The King and Queen watched the proceedings from the Royal Box after Charles made his speech
“It was such a great turnout.”
Another veteran, Roy Hayward, 98, who served as a reserve tank crewman and landed at Gold Beach, met the king after appearing on stage during the show.
After meeting members of the royal family, he told the PA news agency: ‘I thoroughly enjoyed each and every one of them, I actually thought they were great, I was most impressed with the way they talked to me and were so friendly goods.
“They asked how I was doing and how my legs got blown off.”
In his program notes for the event, he spoke of his “deep admiration and respect” for those who took part in D-Day, adding: “It remains our solemn duty to continue to honor the extraordinary courage, service and sacrifice of those who took part in that dangerous mission.’
At the commemorations in Portsmouth, William read an extract from the diary of Captain Alastair Bannerman of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment, a soldier who was part of D-Day, addressed to his wife on the morning of the landings.
He told the flag-waving crowd he was ‘deeply honoured’ to be part of the work on Southsea Common and said ‘we will always remember those who served’.
Charles receives a standing ovation from the audience as he walks onto the stage today
William wore medals during his speech, including the Grand Master of the Most Honorable Order of the Bath around his neck, gold, diamond and platinum jubilee medals and a coronation medal.
The Prime Minister also wrote a piece for the programme, in which he said ‘we must never forget how much we owe’ to those who took part in D-Day.
During the event, Rishi Sunak read out a speech by Field Marshal Montgomery, which was presented to troops ahead of the D-Day landings.
Dame Helen Mirren formally introduced the event at around 11am, where she praised the bravery of the veterans in attendance.
Children waved miniature Union flags as actor Phil Dunster took to the stage in 1940s military garb to read a letter written by Major Rodney Maude of the Royal Engineers, written 48 hours before D-Day .
Call The Midwife star Helen George led an ensemble of singers in a rendition of Dame Vera Lynn’s We’ll Meet Again at the national commemoration event.
Veterans in the audience sang along to the lyrics as crowd members waved Union flags.
Released in 1939, the song has become closely associated with the Second World War and became the basis of a 1943 musical of the same name set during the Blitz in London.
Some veterans will attend two days of commemorative events in Portsmouth to mark the historic milestone.
The Normandy landings were the largest seaborne invasion in history, with the 1944 battle laying the foundation for an Allied victory.
Troops from Britain, the US, Canada and France attacked German troops on the beaches of Normandy in northern France on June 6, 1944.
Allied troops departed Portsmouth on June 5, so the British and French governments will host commemorative events at both ports to commemorate the D-Day landings.
Elsewhere on Wednesday, a D-Day veteran leading an act of remembrance saluted fallen soldiers as the Last Post was played at an emotional ceremony in Normandy.
About eleven veterans from the Spirit of Normandy Trust took part in the commemorations in Colleville-Montgomery, sitting in the front row of the service with blankets on their laps.
Royal Navy veteran Alec Penstone, who served on HMS Campania, told the PA news agency: “I’m surprised I’m still here, I didn’t expect that. I’m very lucky.’
Speaking about the ceremony, the 99-year-old said: ‘I realized how many of my great shipmates… died. I don’t know how I’m going to be spared anymore.’
In the afternoon, tributes will move to the beaches of Normandy, where hundreds of Allied defense personnel will parachute into a historic D-Day drop zone to commemorate the air invasion 80 years ago.
The king, who made his first public speech since being diagnosed with cancer, received a standing ovation
The Royal British Legion will host a memorial service at Bayeux War Cemetery before the Ministry of Defense and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission will host a joint thanksgiving service between Britain and France at Bayeux Cathedral.
On Wednesday evening, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s Bayeux War Cemetery will light up in honor of those who fought on the beaches.
On Thursday – the 80th anniversary of D-Day – commemorations in Normandy will begin at 7.25am, the same time the 1944 beach invasion began.
A military bagpiper will land on the beaches of Arromanches-les-Bains in a Royal Marines landing craft and begin playing a dirge in honor of those who led the beach landings.
The official British commemoration for the 80th anniversary of D-Day will take place at the British Normandy Memorial in Ver-sur-Mer, where the King will join French President Emmanuel Macron and Mr Sunak.
The Prince of Wales will attend events in Normandy, including a service hosted by Canada on Juno Beach and an international ceremony hosted by France on Omaha Beach, which will be attended by more than 25 heads of state.
The Prime Minister will give a short speech in Ver-sur-Mer and lead a ‘heroes’ welcome’ for the veterans.
