The Prince and Princess of Wales and Duke and the Duchess of Edinburgh joined King Charles III and Queen Camilla for the VE Day 80th Anniversary Concert on Horse Guards Parade in London on May 8th, following the Parade at Buckingham Palace and Service of Thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey to mark the 80th Anniversary of VE (Victory in Europe) Day which marked the end of the Second World War in Europe.
The Prince and Princess of Wales and Duke and the Duchess of Edinburgh joined King Charles III and Queen Camilla for the ‘VE Day 80: A Celebration to Remember’ Concert on Horse Guards Parade in London, to conclude the national VE-Day 80 commemorations.
Their Majesties attended a concert, presented by Zoe Ball, with performances to echo the historic celebrations of VE-Day 80 years ago. Thousands of members of the public had the opportunity to join the audience for the event, which included performances of music from the era alongside the stories of veterans from the Second World War, who will reflect on their experiences of VE Day, stories of love, resilience, and the joy of peace after years of conflict.
The King’s Speech
It is now eighty years since my grandfather, King George VI, announced to the nation and the Commonwealth that ‘the dreadful shadow of war has passed from our hearths and our homes’. The liberation of Europe was secured.
His words echo down through history as all this week, and especially today, we unite to celebrate and remember with an unwavering and heartfelt gratitude, the service and sacrifice of the wartime generation who made that hard-fought victory possible. While our greatest debt is owed to all those who paid the ultimate price, we should never forget how the war changed the lives of virtually everyone.
Now, as then, we are united in giving utmost thanks to all those who served in the Armed Forces, the uniformed services, the Home Front, – indeed all the people of this country, the Commonwealth and beyond whose firm resolve and fortitude helped destroy Nazism and carry our allied nations through to V.E. Day. That debt can never truly be repaid; but we can, and we will, remember them.
Over the course of the last year, there have been 80th anniversaries across Europe, from the hills of Monte Cassino to the Lower Rhine at Arnhem. Last June, I was profoundly moved to join veterans of D-Day at the new national memorial overlooking Sword Beach, as they returned to honour their comrades who never came home. In January, as the world marked the liberation of Auschwitz, I met survivors whose stories of unspeakable horror were the most vivid reminder of why Victory in Europe truly was the triumph of good over evil. All these moments, and more, combine to lead us to this day, when we recall both those darkest days and the great jubilation when the threat of death and destruction was finally lifted from our shores.
The celebration that evening was marked by my own late mother who, just nineteen-years-old, described in her diary how she mingled anonymously in the crowds across central London and ‘walked for miles’ among them. The rejoicing continued into the next day, when she wrote: ‘Out in the crowd again. Embankment, Piccadilly. Rained, so fewer people. Conga-ed into House. Sang till 2 a.m. Bed at 3 a.m.!’
I do hope your celebrations tonight are almost as joyful, although I rather doubt I shall have the energy to sing until 2 a.m., let alone lead you all in a giant conga from here back to Buckingham Palace!
The Allied victory being celebrated then, as now, was a result of unity between nations, races, religions and ideologies, fighting back against an existential threat to humanity. Their collective endeavour remains a powerful reminder of what can be achieved when countries stand together in the face of tyranny. But even as we rejoice again today, we must also remember those who were still fighting, still living with conflict and starvation on the other side of the world. For them, peace would not come until months later with V.J. Day – Victory in the Pacific – which my father witnessed at first-hand from the deck of his destroyer, H.M.S. Whelp.
In remembering the past, we must also look to the future. As the number of those who lived through the Second World War so sadly dwindles, the more it becomes our duty to carry their stories forward, to ensure their experiences are never to be forgotten. We must listen, learn and share, just as communities across the nation have been doing this week at local street parties, religious services and countless small acts of remembrance and celebration.
And as we reach the conclusion of the 80th Anniversary commemorations, we should remind ourselves of the words of our great wartime leader, Sir Winston Churchill, who said ‘Meeting jaw to jaw is better than war’. In so doing, we should also rededicate ourselves not only to the cause of freedom but to renewing global commitments to restoring a just peace where there is war, to diplomacy, and to the prevention of conflict.
For as my grandfather put it: ‘We shall have failed, and the blood of our dearest will have flowed in vain, if the victory which they died to win does not lead to a lasting peace, founded on justice and established in good will.’
Just as those exceptional men and women fulfilled their duty to each other, to humankind, and to God, bound by an unshakeable commitment to nation and service, in turn it falls to us to protect and continue their precious legacy – so that one day hence generations yet unborn may say of us: ‘they too bequeathed a better world.
King Charles III and Queen Camilla
The Prince and Princess of Wales
The Duke and the Duchess of Edinburgh
The Royal Family joined King Charles III and Queen Camilla for the VE Day 80th Anniversary Service of Thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey on May 8th, following the Parade at Buckingham Palace to mark the 80th Anniversary of VE (Victory in Europe) Day which marked the end of the Second World War in Europe.
The Prince and Princess of Wales, the Princess Royal and Sir Timothy Laurence, the Duke and the Duchess of Edinburgh, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and the Duke of Kent joined King Charles III and Queen Camilla for the Service of Thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey.
On arrival, the Royal Family joined the congregation in a national two-minute silence of reflection and remembrance. The King laid a wreath at the Grave of the Unknown Warrior, followed by the Prince of Wales before the Service of Thanksgiving commemorating the sacrifice of the Second World War generation.
After the service, the King and Queen had the opportunity to meet veterans in the congregation, before departure, the King led other members of the Royal Family in laying flowers at the Innocent Victims’ Memorial outside the Abbey’s West Door.
King Charles III and Queen Camilla
The Prince and Princess of Wales (in the Collingwood Pearl Earrings)
The Princess Royal (in the Queen’s Three-Strand Pearl Necklace) and Sir Timothy Laurence
The Duke and the Duchess of Edinburgh
The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester
The Duke of Kent
The Royal Family joined King Charles III and Queen Camilla to watch a Military Procession down the Mall to Buckingham Palace on May 5th, before appearing on the Balcony of Buckingham Palace to mark the 80th Anniversary of VE (Victory in Europe) Day which marked the end of the Second World War in Europe.
The Prince and Princess of Wales, the Princess Royal and Sir Timothy Laurence, the Duke and the Duchess of Edinburgh and the Duke of Kent joined King Charles III and Queen Camilla on the dias outside Buckingham Palace to watch a Military Procession down The Mall from Whitehall in honour of those who served during the Second World War.
King Charles III and Queen Camilla
The Prince and Princess of Wales with Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis
The Princess Royal and Sir Timothy Laurence
The Duke and the Duchess of Edinburgh
The Duke of Kent
Afterwards, the Royal Family returned to Buckingham Palace to appear on the balcony to watch a flypast. Veterans watched the flypast from the gardens of Buckingham Palace with the Prime Minister and other senior guests, before the tea party for veterans and members of the Second World War generation at Buckingham Palace.
The Prince and Princess of Wales, the Princess Royal and Sir Timothy Laurence, the Duke and the Duchess of Edinburgh and the Duke of Kent joined King Charles III and Queen Camilla as they hosted a tea party for veterans and members of the Second World War generation at Buckingham Palace.
Their Majesties will welcome around 50 veterans and people who lived through the Second World War – now supported by the Royal British Legion – including British and Commonwealth Armed Forces veterans, WRENs, Special Operations Executives and those who contributed to the war effort on the home front, accompanied by their families and carers.
The Marble Corridor of Buckingham Palace will be decorated in bunting made from fabrics recycled from the royal estates as guests enter for a tea party reception to honour the bravery and service of the Second World War generation.
VE Day in 1945
VE Day 50th Anniversary in 1995
Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara
Queen Alexandra’s Kokoshnik Tiara
Burmese Ruby Tiara
The Belgian Sapphire Tiara
Greville Tiara
Delhi Durbar Tiara
Cubitt-Shand Tiara
Queen’s Five Aquamarine Tiara
George IV State Diadem
Queen Mary’s Crown
Queen Mary’s Lover’s Knot Tiara
The Cartier Halo Tiara
The Lotus Flower Tiara
Strathmore Rose Tiara
King George VI Festoon Necklace
