Royal family members lead two-day tribute on the 80th anniversary of the landings that turned the tide of war
WORDS: REBECCA RUSSELL PHOTOS: GETTY, PA, STEPHEN LOCK/I-IMAGES
NEVER FORGOTTEN
Members of the royal family came together with Second World War veterans during an incredibly emotional two days last week to mark the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings.
King Charles and Queen Camilla were visibly moved as they listened to harrowing stories from the Allied forces’ legendary invasion to liberate France. At a commemorative event in Portsmouth on Wednesday, they remembered the immense sacrifices made by so many.
A day later, on the anniversary of D-Day, they were at the British Normandy Memorial at Ver-sur-Mer in northern France, alongside French President Emmanuel Macron and First Lady Brigitte Macron. Dressed in his Field Marshal No 4 Tropical Service dress uniform, the King, 75, paid tribute to the “remarkable wartime generation”. He told those gathered, “It is with the most profound sense of gratitude that we remember them and all who served at that critical time.”
Standing next to Queen Camilla – who wore an elegant white coat dress and a matching hat – he added, “Our ability to learn from their stories first-hand diminishes, but our obligation to remember them, what they stood for and what they achieved for us all, can never diminish.”
The raw emotion of the two days for the King and Queen, who share a deep connection to the Armed Forces, was plain to see.
Speaking exclusively to OK!, former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond explains, “The King, like so many others of his generation, had two parents who played their part in the Second World War… so the D-Day commemorations resonate with people of the King’s age more than with younger generations.
“We don’t make enough of the association between the monarchy and the Armed Forces. It is a significant relationship and one that the King and his family take extremely seriously. Between them they are patrons or have honorary roles of around 600 military regiments, organisations and charities.”
These military ties run just as deep for Camilla, 76. Her father, Major Bruce Shand, served in the 12th Royal Lancers in France during the war.
While the King and Queen were at the national commemorative event, the Prince of Wales praised the “bravery and sacrifice of the Canadian troop
