King Charles commemorates 80th anniversary of D-Day, the invasion of Normandy
Prince William has given new insight into Princess Catherine’s cancer battle at a D-Day event, where King Charles and Queen Camilla openly wept. See photos, video.
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Prince William – an RAF search and rescue pilot before becoming a full-time royal – has addressed the assembled dignitaries as part of the commemorations to mark the 80th anniversary for the World War II D-Day landings
“Today, we remember the bravery of those who crossed the sea to liberate Europe, those who waited for their safe return,” he said after reading aloud an extract from a veteran’s diary.
A fly-past from The Red Arrows left trails of red, white and blue smoke in the sky.
After the service, the three royals met with veterans where one asked Prince William about his wife Catherine and her codebreaker grandmother, Valarie Glassborow, who worked for Bletchley Park Code and Cypher School deciphering military codes that secured German, Japanese, and other Axis nations’ communications.
“She is better, thanks. She would’ve loved to be here today,” the Prince told him.
In 2016, Catherine paid tribute to her late grandmother – who passed away in 2006 – saying she was proud of her achievements in unlocking the secrets of the German Enigma machine.
The Princess is away from public duties while she continues preventative treatment for cancer.
CHARLES, CAMILLA SHED TEARS
It comes as King Charles III led commemorations, joining British veterans, other senior royals and political leaders in moving tribute.
The 75-year-old monarch, who only recently resumed public engagements as he battles cancer, spoke at a remembrance event in Portsmouth, on England’s south coast, organised by the Ministry of Defence.
“As we give thanks for all those who gave so much to win the victory whose fruits we still enjoy to this day, let us once again commit ourselves always to remember, cherish and honour those who served that day,” King Charles told the flag-waving audience.
Before the King’s speech, the monarch and Queen shared an emotional moment listening to testimonials and were seen wiping tears away from their eyes.
As head of state, Charles is commander-in-chief of Britain’s armed forces and served in the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force.
The King asked one veteran how it felt recounting the emotional stories of WWII.
“It’s amazing how you’ve all kept yourselves in such great shape after all these years,” he said.
Deep in conversation with one paratrooper, who celebrates his 100th birthday in August, he joked: “At least they dropped you in the right place. Because that’s always the worry.”
Hundreds of Armed Forces personnel from Britain, Belgian and US parachuted over Normandy as tributes moved from Portsmouth to the beaches of northern France, to recreate the airborne liberation of Normandy in June 1944.
Meanwhile, in France, the Princess Royal, Colonel-in-Chief of The Royal Regina Rifles, and her husband Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, unveiled a statue of a Second World War Canadian Royal Regina Rifleman in Normandy, where she paid tribute to the “loyalty, bravery and duty” of Canadian forces in WWII.
Speaking in both English and French, Princess Anne urged the public to “never forget the sacrifices and determination” of the Royal Regina Rifles ahead of the 80th anniversary of D-Day on Thursday.
The Princess, who has been Colonel-in-Chief of the regiment since 1982, inspected the troops and military band before admiring the statue that had been covered under tarpaulin.
‘CANNOT FAIL TO MOVE US’
In the King’s stirring speech he praised the surviving heroes for their “courage, resilience and solidary”.
From a royal box at a specially built arena in Portsmouth, Charles, Queen Camilla and the Prince of Wales watched history brought to life as the Ministry of Defence honoured the extraordinary bravery and achievements of the 160,000 troops – including 3,300 Australians – who took part in the Allied campaign to liberate France and western Europe from Nazi occupation.
The King arrived shortly after 11.40am, local time, an hour after Prince William, a decision taken to reduce his time on site to take account of his ongoing treatment.
In his first major public appearance since his cancer diagnosis, he told veterans their D-Day efforts “cannot fail to move us”.
“No one could have known their fate. Aircrew flying overhead, sailors in warships…,” he said.
“All must have questioned whether they would survive and how they would respond when faced with mortal danger.
“Eight decades later it is a near impossible task to imagine that day … The anxiety of, in some way, feeling you are up to scratch and the fear of that day being their last …”
He added: “The stories of courage, resilience and solidarity, which we have heard today, and throughout our lives, cannot fail to move us, to inspire us, and to remind us of what we owe to that great war-time generation now tragically dwindling to so few.
“It is our duty to ensure that we and future generations do not forget their service and their sacrifice in replacing tyranny with freedom.
“Our rights and the liberty won at such terrible cost bring with them responsibility to others in the exercise of that liberty,” he said.
The King was in France on Wednesday night (local time) marking his first visit abroad since his cancer diagnosis for the 80th anniversary only the D Day landings.
On Thursday, Charles will be at the British memorial in Normandy near Gold Beach to honour the thousands of WWII heroes who took part in the Normandy landings but he won’t attend the international event with other world leaders.
Sources reveal his doctors felt that was too much.
The Prince of Wales will instead represent England at Omaha Beach in the afternoon where he will meet with 25 heads of state for the international commemorations.
A palace source said while his doctors are “very encouraged” with the progress made so far, the king is still continuing with his treatment program.
“We have to prioritise and protect his continued recovery,” they said.
“Each event has to be carefully calibrated – and given the king’s other commitments on the day, it was advised that the international event later in the afternoon may be a step too far at this stage.”
‘TOO MANY NEVER RETURNED’
Earlier, Prince William praised the “bravery” of those who took part in the D-Day landings and read an extract from a letter by Captain Alastair Bannerman of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment, addressed to his wife and written in his diary.
“Too many never returned. They remain in some corner of a foreign field that is forever England.
“We will always remember those who served and those who waved them off. The mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, sons and daughters who watched their loved ones go into battle, unsure if they would ever return.
“Today we remember the bravery of those who crossed this sea to liberate Europe.”
Host actress Dame Helen Mirren told veterans: “The future was at stake but your courage was unflinching.”
Also in the royal box with the king were Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty, Opposition leader Sir Keir Starmer, foreign secretary David Cameron, defence secretary Grant Schapps and armed forces personnel and hundreds of schoolchildren gathered to pay tribute to the Greatest Generation.
The occasion featuring a military orchestra and performances by Sir Tom Jones and singers Marisha Wallace, Zak Abel, Johnny Flynn and Emma Barton, is particularly significant as it may be the final time veterans can gather in significant numbers.
They are now all more than 90 years old.
The event was held in Portsmouth because it was a key launch pad for the invasion of the beaches of northern France in 1944.
ANNE’S PERSONAL MESSAGE
Princess Anne paid tribute to her husband’s uncle, Sub-Lieutenant Keith Symons who, at the age of 20, was in command of three landing craft at Gold Beach in the first wave on D-Day.
Her Royal Highness gave a speech at a joint UK-French service of thanksgiving, hosted by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission at Bayeux Cathedral, followed by a candlelit vigil at Bayeux War Cemetery in Normandy.
Anne read a passage from Symons memoir written on the evening of 5th June:
“At last it was time for our briefing. Our confidence was dented by predictions that
casualties in the first wave were likely to be heavy. Everyone was quite subdued, but it was
all very matter-of-fact. They were in those days. After supper we sat around making light
conversation and listening to the chaplain playing his violin. My cabin companion was a Captain in the Green Howards, a charming man who had been a solicitor before the war. We talked about what we would do when the war was over. Sadly he was killed in France only a few weeks later.”
Anne said she is honoured as President of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission to continue to protect their legacy.
“Bayeux was close to the landing beaches and it was the first city to be liberated by the British on 7th June. The City’s hospitals were soon full of the wounded from the surrounding battlefield. For those who could not be saved, this was their final resting place.”
She continued: “It is the largest Commonwealth cemetery of the Second World War in France and contains
She concluded her speech by reciting a mother’s words on one of the epitaphs: “He is not dead whose memory lives in hearts that know and loved him”.
Anne then ended her speech with “80 years on, let their memory still live on in our hearts.”
AUSSIE PILOT HONOURED
Among the 25,000 names of the fallen heroes read aloud were Australian Sub Lieutenant Richard Pirrie, who served with the British and Canadian troops from the landing ship HMS Invicta.
Last week he became the only Australian to have his name added to the 22,442 service personnel on the Normandy Memorial Wall.
Sub Lieutenant Pirrie, a former footballer for Hawthorn in the Victorian Football League, died aged 24 when his small spotter boat was shelled as he inched towards the shore to direct fire on German strongholds.
“I cry when I think of my uncle, the bravery and sheer courage he had to fight as a young man who had never seen war before,” his nephew Michael Pirrie said before attending the vigil.
“Not many think of the Australians involved in D-Day, they see it as a largely American, British and Canadian struggle but Australian blood was spilled.”
Also honoured will be Australian bomber pilot Bill Purdy, who, now aged 101, will watch the events from the television at home in Sydney’s Mosman.
“I’m only famous because I’m still alive,” he joked.
He flew Lancaster bombers attached to No. 463 Squadron’s Bomber Command and completed 37 ‘enemy engagement ops’ between April and August 1944.
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Originally published as King Charles commemorates 80th anniversary of D-Day, the invasion of Normandy
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