They took place on a platform mounted in front of the Buckingham palace, at the foot of the Memorial of Queen Victoria. King Charles III and Queen Camilla are surrounded in these stands of the Prince and the Princess of Wales, who came with their children the princes and Princess George, Charlotte and Louis, of Princess Anne and her husband the vice-admiral Tim Laurence, the Duke and the Duchess of Edinburgh, the Duke of Kent, Prime Minister Keir Starmer but above all veterans. The men of the royal family – and the royal princess – proudly carry the uniform. The king chose the naval ceremony habit, the same as his grandfather George VI wore the day of victory in 1945.
Upon their arrival in the gallery, before the start of the military procession, the children of William and Kate shake hands with great seriousness, chat with veterans … But as the parade continues, Prince Louis’s attention suddenly focuses on dust on his father’s uniform. Dust that he hastened to make a few hand gestures disappear!
A little later, it is the turn of his older brother, George, to become the target of Louis’s attention. Released by the wind, the second heir puts his wick back in place: a gesture immediately parodied by his youngest, to the delight of viewers, always delighted with these jokes.
Family unit demonstration
The king “impatiently waited” to launch these celebrations of the 80e anniversary of Victory in Europe Dayso he is close to him to pay tribute to the “dedication, the sense of duty and disinterested service” of a generation which should still “be an example for all of us”, it is said at the palace.
An important day also for the transmission of history to the younger generations, certainly the reason why Prince William and his wife wanted to come and attend these ceremonies with their three children.
Above all, after the new attacks formulated by Prince Harry in his last interview with the BBC, deemed “of bad taste” by the royal house, the time is in the demonstration of family unity as well as national. The Windsor, and in particular the sovereign, hope today that “nothing will come to distraction and divert attention” intended to honor the veterans and their sacrifices, ensures a courtier.
Celebrate, thank and commemorate a generation
At noon of London, the celebrations start with the bells of Big Ben. The actor Timothy Spall then reads extracts from the speech delivered by Winston Churchill on May 8, 1945. At 12:10 pm, the procession has since set out for Parliament Square towards the Buckingham Palace, via Whitehall and the long avenue du Mall. The cenotaph is draped in immense union Jack, as it was 80 years ago.
The procession is made up of 1,300 men and women, members of the British armed forces, veterans but also of very young recruits, as well as representatives of the NATO forces and the Ukrainian army, who trained with the British army. A reminder that war is still raging today in Europe.
At 1:45 p.m. comes the highlight time of this great parade: the famous flight pastor overview of the capital by 23 military planes, some dating from 1945 and others at the cutting edge of technology. The royal family then joined the Palais balcony to enjoy the show, while the crowd is allowed to invade The Mall.
While the Red Arrows leave blue, white and red streaks in the sky, these commemorations are held for the first time without Elisabeth II on the balcony. The deceased sovereign was the last representative of the royal house to have been present in the same place, on May 8, 1945, to greet the crowd with her sister Princess Margaret and their parents, George VI and Queen Elizabeth. The two young princesses then had permission to join for a few hours, incognito, with a joy crowd. An unforgettable evening.
Later in the afternoon of May 5, King Charles and Queen Camilla will meet veterans from the whole kingdom, but also from the Commonwealth, during a tea party organized in the palaces salons. The oldest of them, Henry Ducker, 104, former Royal Air Force, saw this invitation as “an immense honor. I have never met any member of the royal family, so it’s very exciting!”
The Windsor clan will be found again Thursday, May 8 at noon at noon at the Westminster Abbey, to mark two minutes of national silence and attend a grace action service, in memory of those who have lost their lives in combat for freedom. These four days of commemorations will end with a large concert given on Horse Guards Parade.
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