The Prince of Wales, 41, joined King Charles and Queen Camilla at the D-Day anniversary event in Portsmouth this afternoon.
Prince William gave an update on the Princess of Wales' condition as he revealed his wife 'would have loved' to attend a D-Day anniversary event with him today.
The royal went on to reveal how he had been speaking with women who worked at Bletchley Park as codebreakers along with Kate's grandmother Valerie Middleton. Valerie and her twin sister Mary worked in Hut 16 at Bletchley Park, now engulfed in Milton Keynes, and she was part of the team of crack codebreakers who unlocked the secrets of the German Enigma machine - ultimately helping to win the war for Britain.
Pictured: the Princess of Wales in May 2021. The Princess of Wales' grandmother Valerie Middleton worked as a codebreaker in WWII In 2016, Kate paid tribute to her late grandmother - who passed away in 2006 - and said how proud she was of what she achieved. Earlier this year, the Princess of Wales revealed in an emotional video message that she is receiving treatment for cancer and has taken a step back from public duties.
It used a complex series of rotors and lights to encrypt messages by swapping letters around via an ever-changing 'enigma code'. The code was eventually broken in 1941 by mathematicians at Bletchley - a feat that proved a crucial turning point in the war. Many of her colleagues were 'ordinary' middle-class women like herself, whose work, kept secret for almost half a century, helped change the course of the war.
Pictured: the Prince of Wales seen speaking to a handful of 500 war veterans at the D-Day anniversary event in Portsmouth today Queen Camilla was overcome with emotion today as a D-Day veteran recounted the horror of losing his best friend on the beaches of Normandy 80 years ago. Charles and Camilla joined the Prince of Wales, leading UK politicians and veterans at a major event in Portsmouth, where the King gave his first public speech since being diagnosed with cancer.
A specular Red Arrows flypast over Type 23 Frigate HMS St Albans. The anniversary D-Day event was held at Southsea Common He told the flag-waving crowd he was 'deeply honoured' to be part of proceedings on Southsea Common and said 'we will always remember those who served'. D-Day veterans, armed forces personnel and local schoolchildren were among the guests at the star-studded event held on Southsea Common in Portsmouth.
King Charles and Queen Camilla pictured on stage at the commemorative event on Southsea Common in Portsmouth this afternoon It was later refitted and entered active service again following the outbreak of the Second World War. The show concluded with a gun salute from the frigate HMS St Albans, which sailed past in the Solent, and a rendition of the national anthem before a flypast by the Red Arrows and Typhoon jets.
Prince William took centre stage at the event by making the opening address, in which he spoke of the families who 'watched their loved ones go into battle' as they left for the largest seaborne invasion in history in June 1944. He said those who fought on D-Day 'came from across our nation and from all walks of life to join in the fight against tyranny'.
Members of the public pictured watching as the Red Arrows perform a flypast above HMS St Albans, a Type 23 Frigate, this afternoon Royal Navy Veteran Thomas Cuthbert was seen on a huge TV screen during the D-Day national commemorationRoy Hayward gave a speech during the event, hosted by the Ministry of Defence on Southsea Common in PortsmouthWilliam looked focused as he applauded the performances and speeches at the event todayPerformers took to the stage during the UK's national commemorative event for the 80th anniversary of...
King Charles appeared cheerful as he waved to those gathered to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day ''I can imagine how you listen to the news at 9 o'clock and think of me with love. I hope that Andrew's golden head rests gently and quietly upon his small pillow and that Richard is nice and comfortable lying in his narrow little carry-cot',' the prince said.
After his speech, King Charles was pictured taking his seat in the Royal Box alongside his eldest son Prince of Wales and Queen Camilla The performance by Marisha Wallace was witnessed by a large crowd of over 500 veterans and wellwishers in Portsmouth this afternoon Veterans and members of the armed services gathered this afternoon to commemorate D-Day in Portsmouth
Earlier, William praised the 'bravery' of those who took part in the D-Day landings and read an extract from a letter by Captain Alastair Bannerman of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment You, my angel, sleep gently in the nursery, I hope. Your thoughts have helped me so much. They have given me real strength. I can imagine how you listen to the news at 9 o'clock and think of me with love. I hope that Andrew's golden head rests gently and quietly upon his small pillow and that Richard is nice and comfortable lying in his narrow little carry-cot.
Captain Bannerman survived the landings and the war, being taken prisoner and returning home to his wife and sons in April the next year. Too many never returned. They remain in 'some corner of a foreign field that is forever England.' He added, quoting Rupert Brooke's famous war poem The Soldier: 'Too many never returned. They remain in 'some corner of a foreign field that is forever England'.'
Charles and Queen Camilla will join the Ministry of Defence and Royal British Legion's commemorative event at the British Normandy Memorial at Ver-sur-Mer tomorrow. The Prince of Wales will then attend the international commemorative ceremony at Omaha Beach, Saint Laurent sur Mer, later on June 6 alongside 25 heads of state and veterans from around the world.
Troops from the UK, the USA, Canada, and France attacked German forces on the beaches at Normandy in northern France on June 6, 1944. France's President Emmanuel Macron and Achille Muller , 98, last survivor of the Free French Forces, look on as a wreath is layed during a ceremony commemorating SAS paratroopers and Free French Forces who died
William, wearing his military medals, pictured alongside Mr Sunak and Ms Murty in Portsmouth at the event commemorating D-Day In the afternoon, tributes will move to the beaches of Normandy, where hundreds of allied defence personnel will parachute into a historic D-Day drop zone to commemorate the airborne invasion of 80 years ago.
Leader of the Labour Party Sir Keir Starmer is seen posing for a photo at the D-Day commemoration in Portsmouth this afternoon A Normandy veteran watches on as he prepares for the commemoration to begin on Southsea Common in Portsmouth this morning The official British commemoration for the 80th anniversary of D-Day will take place at the British Normandy Memorial at Ver-sur-Mer, where the King will join French President Emmanuel Macron and Mr Sunak.
Lone bagpiper Richard Cowie, from the Cumbria Freemasons, warms up his pipes ahead of playing at a D-Day commemoration event on Windermere, Lake District
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