Prince William arrives in Portsmouth to mark 80th anniversary of D-Day alongside King Charles and Queen Camilla as commemorative events begin in Britain and France
Prince William was today pictured arriving in Portsmouth for the national event to commemorate the heroes of D-Day on the 80th anniversary of the largest seaborne invasion in history.
The heir to the throne, 41, is being joined by his father King Charles and Queen Camilla as they gather with veterans on and serving military personnel on Southsea Common.
Charles was understood to have been ‘adamant’ he would attend the national commemorative event as he continues his recovery from cancer. The Princess of Wales – who is recovery from her own cancer treatment at home – will not attend.
Dame Helen Mirren is hosting the event in Portsmouth, which will include a reading from the Prime Minister and a Red Arrows flypast.
Charles will also attend a memorial event in northern France tomorrow – in his first major international event since he began treatment for cancer.
Prince William greets Rishi Sunak as he arrives at today’s national commemorative event for the 80th anniversary of D-Day
William, wearing military medals, chats with Mr Sunak at the event in Portsmouth
Helen Mirren is leading proceedings today – and is seen here up on stage
The actress, 78, beckons to the crowd assembled on Southsea Common in Portsmouth
Veterans holding Union flags sit in the front row of today’s national D-Day commemoration
He is said to have been determined to mark the landmark anniversary given it will be the last event of its kind that D-Day veterans will be able to witness.
This has been aided by a good recovery that has allowed his public duties to be brought forward by ‘about a month’, a source told The Times.
Charles and Queen Camilla will join the Ministry of Defence and Royal British Legion’s commemorative event at the British Normandy Memorial at Ver-sur-Mer tomorrow.
Meanwhile, William will attend the Canadian ceremony at Juno Beach Centre at Courseulles-sur-Mer hosted by the Canadian government, alongside veterans and Canadian armed forces personnel.
The Prince of Wales will then attend the international commemorative ceremony at Omaha Beach, Saint Laurent sur Mer, later on June 6 alongside 25 heads of state and veterans from around the world.
The Normandy landings saw 156,000 Allied troops storm five beaches of Normandy on June 6, 1944 – marking the start of a long and costly campaign that would lead to the liberation of France and the eventual defeat of Nazi Germany.
In Normandy today, a D-day veteran leading the act of remembrance saluted fallen soldiers as the Last Post was played at an emotional ceremony.
Some 11 veterans with the Spirit of Normandy Trust joined commemorations in Colleville Montgomery, sitting in the front row of the service with blankets on their laps.
Veteran Alec Penstone stood to sing and laid a wreath during the poignant service near Sword Beach.
Charles and Camilla hosted four D-Day veterans at Buckingham Palace yesterday, hearing moving personal stories and seeing their poignant keepsakes.
Football boots carried on the straps of a military backpack, dog tags still bearing blood, and photos of a much cherished wife were among the mementoes shared with Charles and Camilla.
Charles, in turn, read aloud from his grandfather’s handwritten diary, recounting George VI‘s D-Day entry about the breaking news of the ‘successful landings’ in June 1944.
The special meeting was filmed and will be broadcast as part of BBC One’s D-Day 80: Tribute to The Fallen on June 5.
The King and Queen listened intently as Arthur Oborne, 100, of the 49th Division of the 6th Battalion Duke of Wellington’s Regiment, told how he was shot in the lung, three days after arriving on Gold Beach.
Akshata Murty, wife of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, next to Sir Keir Starmer and Johnny Mercer at today’s D-Day commemorations
Sir Keir Starmer poses for a photo at the D-Day commemoration in Portsmouth today
David Cameron sips from a can behind Sir Keir as the nation prepared to commemorate the D-Day landings
Johnny Mercer – the minister for Veterans’ Affairs and a local MP – chats with Mr Cameron in Portsmouth
A veteran looks on as people gather to attend today’s national commemorative event
A Normandy veteran watches on as he prepares for the commemoration to begin
His life was saved by his friend Walter, who was killed the next day alongside the rest of his entire unit.
Mr Oborne, from Portishead, near Bristol, said: ‘These are the dog tags which were recovered after I got a bullet through the lung, and there is blood still on some of them… He rescued me, and as a family we will never forget it. We found that he was killed the day after… We visited his grave a number of times.’
Camilla said: ‘It must be very difficult recollecting it all.’
The King appeared moved and nodded his head in agreement when John Dennett, 99, from Wallasey, told him: ‘When you look back at the lads we lost, it was colossal. It’s frightening. But that’s when you feel grateful for what you’ve been through.’
Mr Dennett, who was a Navy gunner on a landing craft at Sword Beach, took along a photograph of his wife Joyce, to whom he wrote love letters throughout the war after meeting her in England prior to leaving for D-Day.
Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey chats to a fellow attendee at today’s event in Portsmouth
Defence Secretary Grant Shapps speaks with service personnel at the event this morning
Lone bagpiper Richard Cowie, from the Cumbria Freemasons, warms up his pipes ahead of playing at a D-Day commemoration event on Windermere, Lake District
Mr Cowie will be playing on board one of Windermere Lake Cruises traditional steamers at Bowness-on-Windermere
Planes fly overhead the Standing with Giants installation at the Normandy British Memorial, in Ver-Ser-Mer, France
The memorial features 1,475 silhouettes across the wild meadow fields of the British Normandy Memorial
Parachutists wearing replica WWII-era paratrooper attire check their equipment prior to their jump from a Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft in Normandy today
They married two years after the end of the war.
He added: ‘I class myself as being very lucky and I appreciate being able to do what I can now and being able to enjoy the life that we all fought for.’
Mr Morgan, from Crewe, Cheshire, replied: ‘When we came off the landing ship tank down on the beach, the Army were there collecting the poor soldiers who drowned on the initial landing.’
He showed Charles and Camilla the sturdy brown football boots he took with him and tied to his backpack in a bid to play whenever he could to forget his surroundings – and revealed that he had even managed a match as they sailed to Normandy.
‘These are football boots I carried all through the war. I played 12 games of football, including one on the landing craft going to Normandy,’ he said.
The King told him: ‘I don’t believe it… How fantastic. They’re remarkably well-preserved.’
Mr Morgan joked they are ‘well past their sell-by date’ and revealed that the Army v RAF match en route to D-Day had ended in a draw.
Also there was Jim Miller, who has just turned 100 and hit the headlines last week after he was presented with a 100th birthday card by the King in person.
Mr Miller, who was born in Hackney, east London, but now lives in South Wales, served in the 11th Hussars reconnaissance regiment during the Second World War and landed on Juno beach.
‘Remembrance is so important. The younger generation must learn about it and take it to heart,’ he told the King and Queen.
Showing a photo of George VI with General Montgomery, the King spoke of the wartime monarch’s frustration at not being allowed to travel to Normandy straight away.
‘My grandfather was so determined to go. He got very frustrated because they wouldn’t let him go until several days later,’ Charles said.
Charles and Queen Camilla pose for a photo alongside D-Day veterans Arthur Oborne, Jim Miller, Bernard Morgan and John Dennett
King Charles shakes hands with D-Day veteran Jim Miller at Buckingham Palace yesterday
Charles chatting with D-Day veterans Bernard Morgan and John Dennett
Queen Camilla speaking with veteran Arthur Oborne
