The King has led the D-Day commemorations today ahead of the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings.
At Southsea Common in Portsmouth, members of the Royal Family, the Prime Minister and a host of celebrities joined veterans, Armed Forces personnel and the general public to remember those who took part in Operation Overlord on 6 June, 1944.
Portsmouth was a key location in the planning and preparation of the D-Day landings and has been the focus of UK events in the run-up to the actual day.
On Wednesday morning, King Charles, Queen Camilla and the Prince of Wales were at the service on Southsea Common.
The King and Prince William both gave speeches at the event, which was hosted by Dame Helen Mirren, and Rishi Sunak read the message from General Bernard Montgomery, commander of the Allied forces on D-Day, to troops on the eve of the landings.
Readings were also given by a number of actors including Kate Phillips from Peaky Blinders, Iain Glen from Game of Thrones and Julian Ovenden from Downton Abbey.
A fly past by the Red Arrows and the national anthem drew the entire ceremony to a close.
Nearby Southwick House was the headquarters of Supreme Allied Commander General Dwight Eisenhower and the nerve centre of the D-Day landings.
It played host to D-Day veterans on Monday, as they met for afternoon tea and a formal dinner at the mansion.
A number of the veterans, now in their nineties and beyond, took a ferry on Tuesday heading to Caen, France to join anniversary events in Normandy.
What are the main D-Day anniversary events?
Wednesday 5 June
While the commemorative service took place in Portsmouth on Wednesday, Princess Anne was in Normandy, joined by her husband Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, to unveil a statue of a Second World War Canadian Royal Regina Rifleman.
During the afternoon, paratroopers from the British, Belgian, Canadian and US military parachuted onto fields in Normandy recreating the airborne invasion 80 years ago.
The Bayeux War Cemetery played host to a service of commemoration open to both Normandy and Second World War veterans, families of the fallen and descendants of the Normandy veterans.
Afterwards, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission in partnership with the town of Bayeux will host a service of thanksgiving at Bayeux Cathedral, attended by the Princess Royal.
And then there will be a candlelit vigil back at the Bayeux War Cemetery during which 4,500 graves will be illuminated.
Thursday 6 June
The Royal British Legion and the Ministry of Defence will be hosting a service of Remembrance at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire. Beginning at 2pm, it will commemorate 80 years since the iconic D-Day landings with D-Day veterans and their families attending.
Villages, towns, cities in the UK will also to mark the occasion by lighting a beacon at 9.15pm on 6 June.
In Normandy, the UK National Commemorative Event will be held during the day at the British Normandy Memorial in Ver-sur-Mer. The King will join French President Emmanuel Macron and Mr Sunak at the ceremony.
What other events are there across the UK?
Scotland
Legion Scotland and PoppyScotland will host a concert at Usher Hall, Edinburgh from 7pm on 6 June as part of Scotland’s national commemorative tribute to mark the events of 80 years ago.
Wales
Newports’ Queen Elizabeth II playing fields will host a beacon lighting ceremony from 7.30pm on 6 June. This will include musical performances by Gwent Music Brass Ensemble, Gwent Music Celtic Group, City of Newport Male Choir and Newport Cathedral Choir, and conclude with the lighting of the beacon.
Northern Ireland
Belfast City Council is hosting a D-Day 80 anniversary reception at 10.30am on 6 June at City Hall which is free to attend but tickets must be booked. It will include a discussion with journalist Paul Clark, film-maker Brian Henry Martin and historian Mark Scott to reflect on the heroism and sacrifices of D-Day.
The Midlands
Wolverhampton will hold a commemorative event outside the city’s civic centre on 6 June from 7pm
There will be a ukulele performance, 1940s musical singers The Bluebird Belles and a set by the City of Wolverhampton Brass Band before the lighting of a beacon at 9.15pm
London
A concert will be held at the Royal Albert Hall in London at 7.30pm on 6 June.
Entitled D-Day 80: Remembering the Normandy Landings, it will be presented by Davina McCall and feature performances by Katherine Jenkins, Emeli Sandé, Lulu.
D-Day TV Schedule
BBC One – 6 June
6am – BBC Breakfast – from Portsmouth and Normandy
8.30am – We Will Remember Them – live coverage of the UK national commemorations in Normandy
Sky History – 6 June
7pm – D-Day: 100 Days to Beat the Third Reich – tracing the conflict from D-Day to the liberation of Paris
9pm – Apocalypse D-Day – tells the story of Operation Neptune, the air and seaborne D-Day landings
ITV1 and ITVX- 9 June
4pm – D-Day 80 At The Royal Albert Hall – recording of the concert in London on 6 June
