Events to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day took place in France and the UK after commemorations began on Wednesday, which saw King Charles III addressing a crowd in Portsmouth on the eve of the anniversary.
Making his biggest speech since his cancer diagnosis, he paid tribute to the troops from the UK, the USA, Canada, France as well as the wider Commonwealth nations. Britain's wartime prime minister, Sir Winston Churchill, called it "the most complicated and difficult operation of World War II,” leading to the eventual liberation of France from Nazi occupation.
The UK's national commemorative event in Portsmouth was led by Dame Helen Mirren, who said: "The presence today of some of those who contributed to that remarkable venture is an extraordinary privilege.
“Your bravery remains as inspiring now as it was eight decades ago." As part of the day, the Red Arrows and a pair of Dakota military transport aircraft seen with their invasion stripes took part in a fly-past. King Charles, who attended with Queen Camilla, paid tribute to the veterans who embarked in Portsmouth 80 years ago.
“It is our duty to ensure that we and future generations do not forget their service and their sacrifice in replacing tyranny with freedom,” he said. During his address, the Prince of Wales, Prince William, said: “We will always remember those who served and those who waved them off.
“The mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, sons and daughters who watched their loved ones go into battle, unsure if they would ever return." The event included a number of performances, including one by actress Emma Barton, who sang ‘Sing As We Go,’ a song originally performed by Gracie Fields.
In Cumbria, lone bagpiper Richard Cowie played on the deck of a traditional steamer at Bowness-on-Windermere to honour the D-Day piper Bill Millin, who played on the Normandy beaches on D-Day to confound the enemy and boost the morale of allied troops. In France, ceremonies also took place ahead of the main event, as more than 300 members of the British, Belgian, Canadian and US military put on a parachute-jump display near Sannerville, in Normandy - a designated drop zone on 6 June 1944.
The Princess Royal attended a commemoration service before meeting veterans, including Fred Ayton, 98, who served in the Royal Navy during the D-Day landing.
At an event in Plumelec, in Brittany, French President, Emmanuel Macron, paid homage to the Saint Marcel maquis, a force of French Resistance fighters and the French SAS paratroopers. On Tuesday, more than 30 former servicemen made the ferry crossing aboard Brittany Ferries ship Mont St Michel, sailing out of Portsmouth Harbour to Ouistreham.
During the voyage, two of the veterans, Harry Birdsall and Alec Penstone, threw a wreath into the sea to remember those who never made it to shore during the landings in 1944. On Sword Beach, one of the landing points for British troops, several veterans, and family members travelling with the Royal British Legion, were saluted by a modern RAF transport aeroplane.
Gene Kleindl, 102, from Illinois, who served as medic in the 90th Infantry Division of the US Army, arrived on the beaches of Normandy on D-Day, where he visits the grave of his friend Ralph Gaddis at the Normandy American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer with his granddaughter Jessica Smith.
Along the Normandy coast, people dressed in period uniforms and vehicles can be seen. Here a man gives a victory sign as he drives a US Jeep through Colleville-sur-Mer.
At the British Normandy Memorial in Ver-sur-Mer, 1,475 silhouettes form the Standing with Giants installation, each sculpture representing a fatality under British command on 6 June 1944.
