UK
King, Queen, and Prince of Wales joining veterans to mark 80th anniversary of D-Day
The King, Queen and Prince of Wales will join veterans in Portsmouth today as major events begin in the UK and France to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day.
The Normandy landings were the largest seaborne invasion in history, with the 1944 battle laying the foundation for an Allied victory.
Allied troops departed from Portsmouth on 5 June 1944 and attacked German forces on the beaches at Normandy the following day.
Over the course of two days, the King, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, a slew of other dignitaries and – most importantly – those who fought on the beaches will come together to remember the battle that became the turning point towards an Allied victory.
The commemorations will mean election campaigning will take a back seat for a couple of days, despite polling day being just over four weeks away, with Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer also among others due to take part.
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Some veterans will attend two days of remembrance events in Portsmouth to mark the historic milestone.
Dame Helen Mirren will host the commemorations and military musicians and special guests will lead the ceremony.
The morning will culminate in a flypast by the Royal Air Force Red Arrows followed by a reading by Mr Sunak who will meet veterans to hear their D-Day stories.
D-Day veteran John Dennett, 99, from Liverpool during an event in Normandy. Pic: PA
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.
The Royal British Legion will host a commemoration service at Bayeux War Cemetery before the Ministry of Defence and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission host a joint UK-France thanksgiving service at Bayeux Cathedral.
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The King – then the Prince of Wales – and his wife attended the 75th anniversary D-Day commemorations in France in 2019. Pic: PA
On Wednesday night, as the sun sets, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s Bayeux War Cemetery will light up in honour of those who fought on the beaches.
On Tuesday, a slew of former D-Day soldiers boarded a ferry to make the journey from Portsmouth to Normandy once again, retracing their steps 80 years ago.
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On Thursday – the 80th anniversary of D-Day – commemorations will begin in Normandy at 7.25am, the same time the beach invasion began in 1944.
The official British commemoration for the 80th anniversary of D-Day will take place at the British Normandy Memorial at Ver-sur-Mer, where the King will join French President Emmanuel Macron and Mr Sunak.
The Prince of Wales will attend events in Normandy including a service hosted by Canada at Juno Beach and an international ceremony hosted by France at Omaha Beach which will be attended by more than 25 heads of state.
Watch and follow the D-Day events on Sky News later today