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.
Some veterans will attend two days of remembrance events in Portsmouth to mark the historic milestone.
More on D-day
Related Topics:
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.
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.
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.
Spreaker
This content is provided by Spreaker, which may be using cookies and other technologies.
To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies.
You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable Spreaker cookies or to allow those cookies just once.
You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options.
Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to Spreaker cookies.
To view this content you can use the button below to allow Spreaker cookies for this session only.
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
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has called on Sir Keir Starmer to sack Treasury minister Tulip Siddiq over allegations she lived in properties linked to allies of her aunt, Sheikh Hasina, the deposed prime minister of Bangladesh.
It comes after the current Bangladeshi leader, Muhammad Yunus, said London properties used by Ms Siddiq should be investigated.
He told the Sunday Timesthe properties should be handed back to his government if they were acquired through “plain robbery”.
Tory leader Ms Badenoch said: “It’s time for Keir Starmer to sack Tulip Siddiq.
“He appointed his personal friend as anti-corruption minister and she is accused herself of corruption.
“Now the government of Bangladesh is raising serious concerns about her links to the regime of Sheikh Hasina.”
Ms Siddiq insists she has “done nothing wrong”.
Her aunt was ousted from office in August following an uprising against her 20-year leadership and fled to India.
On the same day, the prime minister said: “Tulip Siddiq has acted entirely properly by referring herself to the independent adviser, as she’s now done, and that’s why we brought into being the new code.
“It’s to allow ministers to ask the adviser to establish the facts, and yes, I’ve got confidence in her, and that’s the process that will now be happening.”
Police in Aberdeen have widened the search area for two sisters who disappeared four days ago in the city.
Eliza and Henrietta Huszti, both 32, were last seen on CCTV on Market Street after leaving their home on Tuesday at around 2.12am.
The sisters – who are part of a set of triplets and originally from Hungary – crossed the Victoria Bridge to the Torry area and turned right on to a footpath next to the River Dee.
They headed in the direction of Aberdeen Boat Club but officers said there is no evidence to suggest the missing women left the immediate area.
Specialist search teams, police dogs and a marine unit have been trying to trace the pair.
Further searches are being carried out towards the Port of Aberdeen’s South Harbour and Duthie Park.
Police Scotland said it is liaising with authorities in Hungary to support the relatives of the two sisters.
Chief Inspector Darren Bruce said: “Eliza and Henrietta’s family are understandably extremely worried about them and we are working tirelessly to find them.
“We are seriously concerned about them and have significant resources dedicated to the inquiry.”
The sisters, from Aberdeen city centre, are described as slim with long brown hair.
Officers have requested businesses in and around the South Esplanade and Menzies Road area to review their CCTV footage for the early morning of Tuesday 7 January.
Police added they are keen to hear from anyone with dashcam footage from that time.
TV presenter Katie Piper has revealed her decision to get an artificial eye, 16 years after an acid attack that left her with life-changing injuries and partial blindness.
The Loose Women panellist, 41, is an advocate for those with burns and disfigurement injuries.
She shared a video of her being fitted with the prosthetic on Instagram.
Piper said: “After many years battling with my eye health, I’ve reached the end of the road somewhat, and the decision has been made to try a prosthetic eye shell.
“This marks the start of a journey to have an artificial eye, with an incredible medical team behind me.
“As always I’m incredibly grateful to all those in the NHS and private health care system for their talent and kindness.
“I will share my journey, I’m hopeful and nervous about being able to tolerate it and would love to hear from any of you in the comments if you’ve been on this journey or have any advice.”
More on Katie Piper
Related Topics:
Commenting on the post, presenter Lisa Snowdon said Piper was a “warrior” and a “true inspiration”.
Piper has undergone hundreds of operations after suffering an acid attack arranged by her ex-boyfriend in March 2008.
She gave up her right to anonymity and made a documentary in 2009 called Katie: My Beautiful Face.
Piper also founded the Katie Piper Foundation which supports survivors of life-changing burns and scars, and has received an honorary doctorate from the Royal College of Surgeons to mark her ground-breaking work.
She was made an OBE in 2021 for her services to charity and burn victims.