King Charles’s D-Day plea: ‘pray we never see such sacrifice again’
King Charles spoke of a duty not to forget WWII sacrifices, amid emotional scenes in Portsmouth and Normandy to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day.
The free world must honour the bravery of those who fought and died on the beaches of Normandy but “pray such sacrifice need never be made again”, King Charles has declared at a ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings.
Speaking in the French town of Ver-sur-Mer on Thursday, the King said: “It is with the most profound sense of gratitude that we remember them, and all those who served at that critical time. We recall the lesson that comes to us, again and again, across the decades: Free nations must stand together to oppose tyranny.”
He also paid tribute to those who faced what he said his grandfather, King George VI, had described as “the supreme test”.
“How fortunate we were, and the entire free world, that a generation of men and women in the United Kingdom and other Allied nations did not flinch when the moment came to face that test,” he said.
He said he had been honoured to meet so many veterans and hear their testimonies.
“Our ability to learn from their stories at first-hand diminishes,” he said. “But our obligation to remember them, what they stood for and what they achieved for us all can never diminish.”
Speaking in French, he paid homage to what he called the “greatest tragedy of the landings: the unimaginable number of civilians who died in this joint battle for freedom”. He also saluted the “incredible courage and sacrifice of the men and women of the French resistance”.
While the King and Queen were at Ver-sur-Mer alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, the Prince of Wales was at a ceremony at the Juno Beach Centre at Courseulles-sur-Mer, along with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal.
In a veiled reference to Vladimir Putin and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Mr Trudeau said: “Democracy is still under threat today. It is threatened by aggressors who want to redraw borders. Our way of life did not happen by accident, and it won’t continue without effort.”
No Russian official was invited to the commemorations, underlining Moscow’s pariah status in the West despite the Soviet contribution to the defeat of Nazi Germany.
US President Joe Biden met veterans at Colleville-sur-Mer before attending a ceremony at Omaha beach involving German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian President Sergio Mattarella.
At a ceremony in Portsmouth, England, John Mines, 99, who was among the first wave of soldiers to land on D-Day, said: “If I could go again, I would go again. I’m glad we sacrificed so that others (could) have a good life,” he said.
More than 3500 Australians took part in D-Day, including 2800 members of the Royal Australian Air Force, 500 members of the Royal Australian Navy on attachment to the Royal Navy and about 13 officers of the Australian Imperial Force serving with the British Army. Only a handful are still alive. Most of the veterans attending the Normandy ceremonies were British, American and Canadian.
Given their age, it was likely the last major D-Day commemoration they would attend.
In Portsmouth, 99-year-old Vera Brett, who was a Wren – a member of the Women’s Royal Naval Service – working on radar controlled gunnery, said of the commemoration: “It made me cry. I can sing Vera Lynn songs still.”
In the Normandy town of Sainte-Marie-du-Mont, 99-year-old US veteran Donald Cobb told the BBC about landing on Omaha beach in the early morning of June 6, 1944.
“The water was choppy, the wind biting. I remember it well. You don’t forget things like that,” he said. “Honestly, I would rather have been anywhere else.”
Mr Macron attended a series of events including a commemoration in Saint-Lô, known as the “capital of ruins” where 368 civilians died from allied bombing during the Normandy landings. The town’s prison also collapsed, killing 150 resistance fighters.
On the sidelines of the commemorations, leaders held informal meetings.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told President Volodymyr Zelensky of the UK’s unwavering commitment to Ukraine in its fight against Russia.
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