King and Queen join veterans to mark 80th anniversary of D-Day as commemorations begin in England and France

5 June 2024, 08:45 | Updated: 5 June 2024, 10:12

King and Queen join veterans to mark 80th anniversary of D-Day
King and Queen join veterans to mark 80th anniversary of D-Day. Picture: Alamy

By Christian Oliver

King Charles and Queen Camilla will join veterans to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day as major events begin in both the UK and France.

Listen to this article

Loading audio...

The King and Queen will attend the commemorative event in Portsmouth with William, the Prince of Wales, to mark the largest seaborne invasion in history that saw thousands of soldiers killed. The Normandy landings on June 6, 1944, went on to lay down the foundations for the Allied victory.

Rishi Sunak will also attend the national commemorative event alongside a slew of dignitaries, and veterans who fought on the beaches in 1944.

The proceedings have already begun for dozens of other Second World War veterans, including former D-Day soldiers who have made the journey from Portsmouth to Normandy once again, retracing their steps 80 years ago.

This means D-Day veterans, politicians, the royals, and the general public will commemorate the historic battle at the very ports traversed by Allied soldiers in 1944.

Veteran Donald Jones returns to Sword Beach in Normandy, France, where he landed on D-Day
Veteran Donald Jones returns to Sword Beach in Normandy, France, where he landed on D-Day. Picture: Alamy
Veterans John Life, and Donald Jones return to Sword Beach in Normandy, France, where they landed on D-Day
Veterans John Life, and Donald Jones return to Sword Beach in Normandy, France, where they landed on D-Day. Picture: Alamy

Read More: LIVE: King Charles to join veterans at D-Day 80th anniversary commemorations

Read More: Last of D-Day veterans in France to mark 80th anniversary of Normandy landings and pay tribute to fallen friends

Dame Helen Mirren will host the commemorations in Portsmouth on June 5, and military musicians and special guests will lead the ceremony. The morning will culminate in a flypast by the Royal Air Force Red Arrows.

The Prime Minister will then deliver a reading to the crowds and meet with veterans to hear their D-Day stories to mark the occasion

In the afternoon, tributes will move to the beaches of Normandy, where hundreds of allied defence personnel will parachute into a historic D-Day drop zone to commemorate the airborne invasion of 80 years ago.

Anne, the Princess Royal, will join British and Canadian military veterans across the English Channel in Normandy.

In her role as Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Regina Rifles, a Canadian military unit, the King's sister, joined by her husband Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, will unveil a statute of a rifleman from the regiment and later attend a reception with former soldiers.

Nicknamed "The Johns", the unit was one of the first infantry regiments to storm Juno Beach 80 years ago with other Canadian forces.

Later, Anne and Sir Tim will join Normandy veterans and French representatives at a Royal British Legion service of commemoration at Bayeux War Cemetery, where the princess will lay a wreath at the Cross of Sacrifice.

Normandy veterans (left to right) Alec Penstone, 98, Gilbert Clarke, 98, Richard Aldred, 99, Henry Rice, 98, Donald Howkins, 103, Mervyn Kersh, 98, Stan Ford, 98, Ken Hay, 98, and John Dennett, 99.
Normandy veterans (left to right) Alec Penstone, 98, Gilbert Clarke, 98, Richard Aldred, 99, Henry Rice, 98, Donald Howkins, 103, Mervyn Kersh, 98, Stan Ford, 98, Ken Hay, 98, and John Dennett, 99. Picture: Alamy

The Bayeux War Cemetery is France's largest Commonwealth cemetery of the Second World War and is the final resting place of more than 4,000 military casualties. The site is run by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, an organisation the princess supports as president.

During her day in Normandy, Anne will attend the annual service of remembrance at Bayeux Cathedral where she will read a lesson and take part in a procession, led by pipers from France, Germany and the UK.

It will return the royal to the military cemetery for a vigil where she will lay a posy at the Grave of the Unknown Soldier and give a speech on behalf of the nation.

The day will also see hundreds of Armed Forces service personnel take part in a parachute drop into a historic D-Day zone to pay tribute to the contribution of airborne forces 80 years ago.

Paratroopers from the UK, Canada, Belgium and the US will take part in the commemorations near Sannerville, followed by a display by the British Army's Red Devils.

More Latest News

See more More Latest News

Prime Minister Keir Starmer is shown a new autonomous drone, the "StormShroud" during a visit to a defence contractor on May 2, 2025 in Bedfordshire, England.

‘The kit of the future’ - Lasers, drones and AI part of plans to get Britain back to ‘war-fighting posture’

The plates have a reflective coating, which prevents them from being identified by police cameras

Ministers urged to crack down on 'ghost plates' letting criminals dodge police cameras

Main entrance to the Queen’s Medical Centre. The QMC is part of the Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust in Nottingham, England, UK.

Police launch corporate manslaughter case after baby deaths in maternity services at scandal-hit NHS trust

Sgt Graham Saville, 46, who worked for Nottinghamshire Police, was fatally injured on the line in Balderton.

Cop uncle of Premier League star died after being hit by train while trying to save man on tracks

Experts have raised concerns after a new study found that 17 per cent of Brits admitted they don't bother washing their greens before eating them

Deadly bacteria found on popular salad leaves – experts warn Brits to rethink this common habit

Ian "H" Watkin from the "Steps" band.

Steps star says it is ‘mindblowing’ that Coachella forced his small Welsh festival to change its name

William Jonzi, 24, reportedly followed a paying customer through the international airport's e-gates and attempted to board the flight with no documents last Wednesday morning

Man wrestled off TUI flight at Gatwick after breaching security and boarding without documents

According to documents filed for the federal criminal case, officers found at least 14 unused Molotov cocktails in Soliman's possession when they arrested him.

Colorado firebomb attack was year in the making, FBI says, as suspect faces terror and hate crime charges

In the years leading up to the attack, Robert Price, 76, had been the target of a prolonged campaign of harassment and criminal damage, the Old Bailey was told.

Teenagers jailed for manslaughter after firework attack which killed widower in his own home

Cameron Norrie of Great Britain plays a forehand against Novak Djokovic of Serbia.

Cameron Norrie out of French Open after convincing defeat to Novak Djokovic

Exclusive
Lord George Robertson has warned the enemy is already at our door

'Our enemies are at our door', warns Lord Robertson as government unveils Strategic Defence Review

Households across the UK can claim up to £300 this June in payments to help with essential costs amid the cost of living crisis.

UK households to get £300 summer cost of living payment from this month

Britain's Jack Draper reacts as he plays against Kazakhstan's Alexander Bublik

Jack Draper knocked out of the French Open by Alexander Bublik

Holocaust survivor among victims in Colorado as man charged with murder after 'petrol bomb' attack at pro-Israel rally

Holocaust survivor among victims in Colorado as man charged with murder after 'petrol bomb' attack at pro-Israel rally

Jodey Whiting, 42, was found dead in 2017 just two weeks after her Employment Support Allowance (ESA) was cut.

Disabled mum-of-nine killed herself because her benefits were incorrectly cut, inquest finds

Arrivals at the UK Border at Heathrow Terminal 3

The UK airports that allow you to keep liquids in bags through security