D-Day live: King Charles hails unflinching bravery of veterans

• The King, Queen and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to attend the UK’s national commemorative event at the British Normandy Memorial, Ver-sur-Mer.

• The Prince of Wales will attend the Canadian commemorative ceremony at the Juno Beach Centre, Courseulles-sur-Mer.
• The Prince of Wales will join more than 25 heads of state and veterans from around the world at the official international ceremony at Omaha Beach, Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer.
• Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh to attend Royal British Legion’s service of remembrance at the National Memorial Arboretum.

• 80-strong boat Flotilla parade in Falmouth. Around 27,000 American troops departed from the Falmouth area to travel to Normandy in 1944 as part of the D-Day landings.

• The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester to attend D-Day 80: Remembering the Normandy Landings at the Royal Albert Hall, London.

King Charles III has said the obligation to remember the sacrifices of D-Day veterans “can never diminish”.

The monarch spoke at Britain’s commemorative event in Normandy marking the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings on Thursday 6 June.

“As the years pass, the veterans of the Normandy campaign become ever fewer in numbers,” Charles said.

“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.”

Some veterans of the 1944 beach invasion were helped from their wheelchairs to stand when the King and Queen arrived for the service.

The King has spoken of his “profound sense of gratitude” to those who fought in the D-day invasion as he addressed veterans during 80th anniversary commemorations in Normandy.

Veterans could be seen wiping their eyes with tissues as Charles made his address at the national commemorative event in France on Thursday.

The King and Queen also appeared emotional during the service, with the Queen wiping her eye as the memories of one D-Day veteran were read to the crowd in Ver-sur-Mer.

During his speech, Charles told the audience: “It is with the most profound sense of gratitude that we remember them and all who served at that critical time”.

The Queen was seen wiping her eye and appeared emotional as the memories of a D-Day veteran were read out by actor Martin Freedman.

The Office star read the words of Joe Mines, a D-Day veteran who landed on Gold Beach 80 years ago and was present at the commemorative event held in Normandy today.

In the message read by the actor, Mr Mines said he had come back “to pay my respect to those who didn’t make it”.

Mr Mines smiled and waved to applause from the audience as Mr Freeman concluded his speech and sat down next to the veteran.

Camilla dabbed her eye before smiling with the King as Mr Mines waved his arms in the air.

As we mark the 80th anniversary of the Normandy Landings on 6 June 1944, Guy Walters shines a light on the forgotten heroines who helped turn the Second World War in the Allies’ favour:

Hundreds of people, some in Second World War-era uniforms, arrived before dawn to stretch out across the now peaceful sands of Utah Beach, one of the five Allied landing zones on D-Day where troops waded into cold seas through hails of fire exactly 80 years ago.

They watched as US Navy Seals re-enacted the landing of the 2nd Naval Beach Battalion alongside descendants of soldiers who landed on the beach on 6 June 1944.

The Allied invasion of Normandy led to the defeat of the Nazis and the end of WW2.

As dawn broke 80 years ago, Allied forces started bombing German coastal defences and shortly after that vessels began putting troops ashore on five codenamed beaches: Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword.

King Charles has arrived at a national commemorative event in Normandy marking the 80th anniversary of D-day.

The King and Queen are also scheduled to pay tribute to fallen soldiers at the event in Ver-sur-Mer, along with Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron.

Schoolchildren presented veterans attending the UK’s national commemoration event with white roses while cadets waved flags.

At the same time, an RAF band performed a marching display while Dakota military transport aircraft, widely used by the Allies during the Second World War, flew overhead.

US president Joe Biden and US first lady Jill Biden have arrived in Normandy to to mark the 80th anniversary of the June 6, 1944 D-Day landings.

Mr Biden will be joined by other world leaders including French president Emmanuel Macron, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy and German chancellor Olaf Scholz.

However Russian president Vladimir Putin has not been invited due to the Kremlin’s ongoing war in Ukraine.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told D-Day veterans “we owe you everything” as he addressed the audience at the UK’s national commemoration event in Normandy to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day.

He said: “Each of you who contributed that day – sailor, soldier, aviator, civilian – whether you fought on the beaches, or parachuted from the skies, or flew fighters or gliders, whether you were an engineer or a radio operator or an intelligence officer, your actions freed a continent and built a better world.

“You risked everything and we owe you everything.

“We cannot possibly hope to repay that debt but we can and we must pledge never to forget.

He said veterans had “taught generations of young people about the horrors of war”, adding: “Yet with each passing year, it falls now to those of us who listened in awe to your stories to pass them on to our own children and grandchildren.

“Because only by remembering can we make certain that the cause you fought for, that so many of your friends and colleagues died for, that great cause of freedom, peace and democracy, will never be taken for granted.”