On the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings, King Charles praised those who participated in the operation, saying that they replaced tyranny with freedom and that humanity was “eternally in their debt.” He paid tribute to their courage, resilience, and solidarity, while also acknowledging the dwindling number of survivors. The King, along with Queen Camilla and the Prince of Wales, addressed a national D-Day commemoration in Portsmouth, which was one of the key embarkation points for the Normandy landings.
Portsmouth was where Allied forces crossed the English Channel to liberate France and Western Europe from Nazi occupation. The King hailed D-Day as the greatest amphibious operation in human history while also acknowledging the bravery of those who must have questioned if they would survive. He called on future generations to honour those who died by balancing rights and civic responsibilities, to live up to the freedom for which they perished.
Several D-Day veterans attended the commemorative event, including Roy Hayward, who had landed in Normandy at the age of 19 on June 6. Mr Hayward hoped to remember those who fought for democracy and ensure that their legacy is never forgotten. Prince William also gave a poignant reading from the diary of Captain Alastair Bannerman, who had remembered his family before heading towards the French coast on the morning of D-Day.
23 surviving D-Day veterans travelled to Normandy for this year’s commemorations, while an additional 21 attended a memorial event in Staffordshire. The Royal British Legion stated that these moving commemorations are the last opportunity to host a significant number of Normandy veterans, as there were 225 five years ago. The King met one of the Normandy veterans, Jim Miller, on his 100th birthday last week and personally handed him his birthday card. The King will attend a commemorative event on Thursday in France at the British Normandy Memorial in Ver-sur-Mer. Prince William will join over 25 heads of state at an international ceremony
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