King Charles and Prince Charles joined world leaders and veterans for a series of events marking the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings.
Speaking in France on Thursday, the royals praised the “courage and sacrifice” of those who “served at that crucial time.”
The King laid a wreath at the British Normandy Memorial in Vers-sur-Mer, near Gold Beach, with a note referencing the sacrifices made on D-Day.
Later that day, Prince William joined world leaders at Omaha Beach in Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer for the final event of the two-day commemorations.
- author, Robert Plummer
- role, BBC News
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Speaking at the British War Memorial in France, the King said the lesson to be learned was that free nations must unite against tyranny.
“Our duty to remember them, what they stood for and what they achieved for all of us will never be diminished,” the King told delegates at a solemn and moving memorial service.
British Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Labour leader Keir Starmer attended the ceremony with the King, which may be one of the few commemorations attended by veterans of the Normandy landings.
On June 6, 1944, tens of thousands of soldiers landed on five beaches in Normandy, northern France.
The landings marked the beginning of the campaign to liberate Nazi-occupied northwestern Europe.
Five years ago, 225 British veterans travelled to Normandy for the commemorations, and this year 23 took part, including some who are over 100 years old.
He suffered a medical emergency on board the ship to Europe and was airlifted to a hospital in Germany on May 30. He died the next day at the age of 102.
Thursday’s memorial service began early in the morning on Gold Beach in Arromanches with military pipers playing a lament at sea at 7:26 a.m., marking the exact moment the invasion began.
This led to a series of re-enactments, military flyovers and memorial services in several locations.
Also attending Thursday’s event were U.S. President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the leaders of the other major nations involved in the amphibious operations.
Prince William attended Canada’s commemoration ceremony at Juno Beach and thanked Canadian veterans for their “extraordinary acts of bravery and sacrifice.”
“We continue to honour all the Canadians who gave so much and all the Canadian families who lost loved ones,” he said.
He ended his speech by saying in French, “Thank you for our freedom and thank you for your service.”
Prime Minister Trudeau also paid tribute, saying, “We must continue to uphold democracy every day. We owe it to future generations.”
Prince William sat alongside world leaders at the commemorations’ final event, the International Remembrance Ceremony on Omaha Beach.
Ahead of the event, Prince William met with President Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Mr Sunak did not attend the Omaha Beach ceremony, but both British Foreign Secretary David Cameron and Mr Starmer were in attendance.
At the event, President Biden said that what happened at Normandy 80 years ago does not absolve the current generation of what they must do today.
“Democracy is never guaranteed,” he said, adding that democracy must be preserved and fought for.
He said the conflict was part of a never-ending struggle between dictatorship and freedom.
“Heroes of the Shadows”
At the Gold Beach ceremony, President Macron paid tribute to the courage and sacrifice of those who fought.
“France will never forget the British troops and their comrades who landed on D-Day,” he said.
“The faith in freedom that you have never lost, your unfailing selflessness and devotion, serve as our guide and our duty.”
Macron awarded the Legion of Honor to veterans, including Christiane Lam, now 103, who spent the war as an officer in the Women’s Royal Navy Corps.
“You were one of the unsung heroes,” the French president told her.
Among the other veterans in attendance was 99-year-old Joe Mines, who landed at Gold Beach 80 years ago.
In remarks read by actor Martin Freeman, Mines said he had returned “to pay his respects to those who have died”.
Roy Hayward, now 99, was a member of the Sherwood Rangers who took part in the landing and was seriously wounded during the raid.
“The tank was hit and I was so badly injured that both my legs had to be amputated below the knee,” he told the BBC. “I’ve always considered myself one of the lucky ones to have survived, because so many others didn’t.”
The memorial was also attended by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Russian officials were not invited.
Image source, Getty Images
Meanwhile, American actor Tom Hanks and film director Steven Spielberg also attended the commemoration ceremony in Normandy.
The 1998 film Saving Private Ryan features a famous opening battle scene depicting the American military landing on Omaha Beach.
The film will be screened in around 300 cinemas in France on Thursday to mark the anniversary of the Normandy landings.
