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King Charles III

Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall join veterans for service of remembrance in Bayeux

Yesterday, on the 75th anniversary of D-Day, the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall joined Prime Minister Theresa May and her husband, Philip, in Bayeux, Normandy, France, for a service to commemorate the day.

Their Royal Highnesses attended the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and Royal British Legion Service of Remembrance at Bayeux Cathedral where the Hereford Cathedral Choir performed. It was aired live on BBC One.

Prince Charles laid the first wreath at the Cross of Sacrifice to remember all those who lost their lives and fought in the name of freedom 75 years ago on the beaches of Normandy. He and Camilla would later visit the graves of servicemen who took part in the Battle of Normandy in Bayeux Cemetery.

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Bayeux Cemetery is the largest cemetery from World War Two for servicemen of the Commonwealth in France.

The Prince and Duchess greeted those in attendance and specifically veterans at a reception after the service had concluded.

His Royal Highness was able to speak to representatives of the Normandy Memorial Trust, of which he is the Royal Patron, and the Duchess spoke to members of The Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada, of which she has been the colonel-in-chief since 2011.

Additionally, the Prince of Wales spoke to the British artist behind several portraits of World War Two veterans, Gideon Summerfield, before departing the cemetery.

A BBC interview with Prince Charles was released yesterday, as well, discussing the importance of commemorating the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings – one of the world’s largest military operations in history.

There were over 10,000 casualties during the invasion with 4,000 of those being fatalities. The invasion spelt the beginning of the end of the Nazi reign of terror across Europe. The war in Europe officially ended on 8 May 1945, now dubbed VE Day (Victory in Europe Day).

About author

Brittani is from Tennessee, USA. She is a political scientist and historian after graduating with a degree in the topics from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, in December 2014. She also holds a master's degree from Northeastern University. She enjoys reading and researching all things regarding the royals of the world. She's been researching, reading, and writing on royalty for over a decade. She became Europe Editor in October 2016, and then Deputy Editor in January 2019, and has been featured on several podcasts, radio shows, news broadcasts and websites including Global News Canada, ABC News Australia, WION India and BBC World News.