The D-Day story that made Camilla cry (2024)

The Queen was moved to tears during commemorations for the 80^th anniversary of D-Day as a veteran recounted the horror of losing his best friend on the beach at Normandy.

Camilla was overcome with emotion as Royal Navy servicemanEricBateman, 98, recounted his story – with King Charles also seen wiping his eyes.

The couple were joined by the Prince of Wales, leading UK politicians and veterans at a major event in Portsmouth on Wednesday.

Charles paid tribute to the ‘courage, resilience and solidarity’ of veterans, adding: ‘We are all eternally in their debt.’

Mr Bateman was joined on stage by his two great-granddaughters. He served on HMS Erebus alongside an American fleet on their way to Utah beach.

He described ‘ships as far as you could see’, adding: ‘You could almost walk across the Channel.’

The veteran went on: ‘I’m lucky to be here 80 years later with two of my great-grandchildren.

‘So many men and women, including my dear friend Fred, joined up with me but unfortunately never made it.

‘I’m proud to be here today to all of them and to make sure they will always be remembered.’

His great-granddaughters then took the microphone to thank all the soldiers of the Normandy landings, saying: ‘Without them, we wouldn’t have the freedoms we enjoy today.

‘We will never forget. Thank you.’

Addressing the crowd, Charles said: ‘The stories of courage, resilience and solidarity we have heard today and throughout our lives cannot fail to move us, to inspire us and to remind us of what we owe to that great wartime generation.

‘It is our privilege to hear that testimony, but our role is not purely passive.

‘It is our duty to ensure that we and future generations do not forget their service and their sacrifice in replacing tyranny with freedom.’

The King’s appearance at the event in Portsmouth was his first public speech and his most high-profile appearance since his cancer diagnosis.

Charles faced breezy conditions on stage as he spoke, with his speech notes blowing around in his hand.

At the show, he wore multiple medals and decorations, including theQueen’sService Order (New Zealand); the Coronation Medal (forQueenElizabeth II’s coronation); four Jubilee Medals, the Order of Merit and the Naval Long Service medal.

After the event, he met with 21 veterans – with one sharing a joke with him and revealing that he had served on the same ship as the King’s father, the late Duke of Edinburgh.

Keith Whiting, 98, who served with the Royal Marines, said: ‘It was marvellous, we shared two or three jokes, I served on board the HMS Ramillies when Prince Philip was on there, so we talked about one or two things.

‘It was such a marvellous turnout.’

Another veteran, Roy Hayward, 98, who served as a reserve tank crewman and landed on Gold Beach, met with the King after appearing on stage during the show.

After meeting members of the royal family, he said: ‘I thoroughly enjoyed every one of them, I thought they were super actually, I was most impressed by the way they chatted to me and were so friendly.

‘They asked me how I got on and how I had my legs blown off.’

At the Portsmouth commemorations, William read an extract from the diary of Captain Alastair Bannerman of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment, a soldier who was part of D-Day, addressed to his wife on the morning of the landings.

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’.

William wore medals during his address, including the Great Master of The Most Honourable Order of the Bath around his neck, Golden, Diamond and Platinum Jubilee medals and a coronation medal.

The Prime Minister also wrote a piece for the programme, in which he said ‘we must never forget how much we owe’ those who took part in D-Day.

At the event, Rishi Sunak read an address by Field Marshal Montgomery, which was delivered to the troops ahead of the D-Day landings.

Dame Helen Mirren formally introduced the event at around 11 m, where she praised the bravery of the veterans in attendance.

Children waved miniature Union flags as actor Phil Dunster came on stage in 1940s military garb to read a letter written by Major Rodney Maude of the Royal Engineers 48 hours before D-Day.

Call The Midwife star Helen George led an ensemble of singers in a rendition of Dame Vera Lynn’s We’ll Meet Again at the national commemorative event.

Veterans in the audience were seen singing along to the lyrics as members of the crowd waved Union flags.

The song, released in 1939, has become closely associated with the Second World War and became the basis of a 1943 musical of the same name set during the Blitz in London.

Some veterans will attend two days of remembrance events in Portsmouth to mark the historic milestone.

The Normandy landings were the largest seaborne invasion in history, with the 1944 battle laying the foundation for an Allied victory.

Troops from the UK, the US, Canada and France attacked German forces on the beaches at Normandy in northern France on June 6 1944.

Allied troops departed from Portsmouth on June 5, so the UK and French governments will host memorial events at both ports to commemorate the D-Day landings.

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