Royals join veterans as 80th anniversary VE Day military procession underway
The Prince and Princess of Wales’s children have joined King Charles, Queen Camilla and veterans to watch a military parade marking the 80th anniversary of the end of the second world war in Europe.
The procession of 1,300 members of the armed forces and Nato allies, past some of London’s most famous buildings and monuments and ending at Buckingham Palace, commemorates the service of those who fought to bring peace to Europe and the rest of the world.
Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis made a rare public appearance with their parents William and Kate to see the ceremony which began a few minutes before they arrived at the royal box.
Charles and Camilla led the royal party sat in the shadow of the Queen Victoria Memorial who included the Princess Royal and her husband, Vice Adm Tim Laurence, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh and the Duke of Kent.
Nearby were sat second world war veterans and prime minister Keir Starmer. Crowds have lined the Mall, with some waiting since early morning to secure a good spot to watch events.
Key events
The military procession has now finished and the national anthem will be played shortly.
Members of the royal family will then watch a flypast from the palace balcony where, 80 years ago, George VI, Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother and the princesses Elizabeth and Margaret made multiple appearances before a cheering crowd.
Later, King Charles and Queen Camilla will host a tea party reception for about 50 veterans and members of the second world war generation at Buckingham Palace.
In Whitehall, the Cenotaph has been draped in a large union flag, with the south and north face of the landmark covered. It is the first time the war memorial has been draped in union flags since it was unveiled by King George V more than a century ago, in 1920.
Crowds started to gather on the Mall on Monday morning, with some arriving the day before to secure a viewing spot for the 80th anniversary VE Day military procession.
The commemorations will feature displays by the Red Arrows and street parties will take place across the UK, reports the PA news agency.
Alan Kennett, a 100-year-old Normandy veteran, began the military procession which set off down Whitehall, through Admiralty Arch and up the Mall towards Buckingham Palace.
Thirty further veterans are to attend official events on Monday, including 26 who will watch the procession in London, reports the PA news agency.
The list includes Royal Navy veteran Albert Keir, 99; Royal Engineers veteran Alfred Littlefield, 101; Royal Air Force (RAF) veteran Bernard Morgan, 101; army veterans Arthur Oborne, 99, and Tom Stonehouse, 99; and Royal Marines veteran Francis James Grant, 99; who all served during D-day.
The Nato detachment, which included personnel from Poland, Lithuania and Sweden, marched in the procession wearing the uniforms of their nations under the Nato flag.
Representatives of the Ukrainian military, selected from the UK armed forces’ training programme for Ukrainian recruits, also took part.
The BBC’s royal correspondent, Sean Coughlan, who is reporting from the Mall says that there was appaluse from the royal viewing platform as the Ukrainian contingent walked past in the military procession, carrying the blue and yellow flag of their country.
Massed Pipes and Drums, kitted out in kilts, played Scotland The Brave as they marched down Whitehall, to cheers and claps from some of the crowd.
As the final groups in the procession passed the Cenotaph, many spectators began to follow them towards the Mall to see them make their way towards Buckingham Palace, according to the PA news agency.
King Charles stood and saluted as the start of the procession reached the Queen Victoria Memorial.
Before the procession arrived, cadets and scouts watching on cheered and waved to the royal family from the paths nearby, reports the PA news agency.
Here are some images of the VE Day 80th anniversary military procession coming in via the newswires:
The military procession is under way. As mentioned previously, you can watch live coverage of it via the stream at the top of this blog.
Also, for ease, here is the map of the parade route which was posted in the blog earlier:
Crowds cheer as Ukrainian military take part in VE Day procession
Crowds on Whitehall cheered and clapped as Ukraine’s marching detachment passed the Cenotaph.
Some spectators stood on walls and street furniture to get a better view of the procession, reports the PA news agency.
There was a sea of colour down Whitehall as the Band of the Irish guards, wearing red, marched down Whitehall, closely followed by the flags of the Commonwealth nations.
Royals join veterans as 80th anniversary VE Day military procession underway
The Prince and Princess of Wales’s children have joined King Charles, Queen Camilla and veterans to watch a military parade marking the 80th anniversary of the end of the second world war in Europe.
The procession of 1,300 members of the armed forces and Nato allies, past some of London’s most famous buildings and monuments and ending at Buckingham Palace, commemorates the service of those who fought to bring peace to Europe and the rest of the world.
Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis made a rare public appearance with their parents William and Kate to see the ceremony which began a few minutes before they arrived at the royal box.
Charles and Camilla led the royal party sat in the shadow of the Queen Victoria Memorial who included the Princess Royal and her husband, Vice Adm Tim Laurence, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh and the Duke of Kent.
Nearby were sat second world war veterans and prime minister Keir Starmer. Crowds have lined the Mall, with some waiting since early morning to secure a good spot to watch events.
Normandy veteran Alan Kennett, 100, who was in the Royal Air Force (RAF) with the Mustang Squadron and was in Celle near Belsen on VE Day, formally started the VE Day procession in central London on Monday.
Garrison Sergeant Major Warrant Officer Class One Andrew Stokes, of the Coldstream guards, asked Kennett, who sat on a chair in Parliament Square flanked by cadets, for permission to march.
He said:
Thank you and your generation for securing our freedom 80 years ago. May I have your permission to start the parade please?
“Carry on,” Kennett replied. Kennett had earlier been presented with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s Torch of Peace by one of the cadets.
Actor Timothy Spall has kicked off commemorative events for the 80th anniversary of VE Day in London as he delivered some of the words of Winston Churchill’s 1945 victory speech.
Speaking in Parliament Square in front of a statue honouring Winston after Big Ben struck midday, Spall said:
My dear friends, this is your hour.
This is not victory of a party or of any class. It’s a victory of the Great British nation as a whole. We were the first, in this ancient island, to draw the sword against tyranny.
Wearing a dark grey suit, Spall continued:
Every man, woman and child in the country had no thought of quitting the struggle.
When shall the reputation and faith of this generation of men and women fail? I say that in the long years to come not only will the people of this island, but of the world, wherever the bird of freedom chirps in human hearts, look back to what we have done and they will say: ‘Do not despair, do not yield to violence and tyranny, march straightforward and die if need be unconquered’.
You can follow the television coverage of the VE Day 80th anniversary ceremony via the live stream at the top of this blog. You may have to refresh the page to see it.
VE Day 80th anniversary commerations begin with Churchill reading by Timothy Spall
The actor Timothy Spall, who portrayed Winston Churchill in the film The King’s Speech, has begun the VE Day 80th anniversary commerations by reading extracts from the wartime prime minister’s VE Day broadcast.
Normandy veteran Alan Kennett, 100, will formally start the procession after being handed the Commonwealth War Graves Torch for Peace.
Members of the royal family and government officials have been arriving for the VE Day 80th annivesary ceremony. Live television coverage showed the UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, taking his seat shortly before Big Ben chimed at 12pm.
Foreign secretary, David Lammy, has also been pictured arriving.
Reporters from the PA news agency have been speaking to members of the public who have turned out to watch today’s military procession:
“I just love the celebration of it all,” said Laura Bill, a 1940s re-enactor from Staffordshire. The Bill family, who all dressed in 1940s-style clothing for the parade, travelled for three hours to Buckingham Palace.
She said:
We’ve done reenactments all over the country.
We shop at vintage shops a lot. There are traders at events who we buy clothes from. Today is about coming together, and I’m so excited for it.
Jacqueline Bill, Laura’s mother, said:
It’s great to do this as a family. It’s more of a social thing. We know a woman who collects 1940s wedding dresses, we’re hoping to meet up with her later.
Lesley Watson and her friend David are in Whitehall to witness the parade.
David, who did not wish to be fully named, said:
We are here to show the veterans who are on the parade that we support them and we will carry on the tradition.
David, who worked in the Royal Navy for 12 years, wore medals he received for his time working in what was then called Yugoslavia from 1993 to 1995.
Watson, whose father joined the East Surrey Tower Corps during the second world war when he was 17, stressed the importance of remembering veterans. “My father is not alive now but he would have been 97,” she said.
Two women gathered outside Buckingham Palace made their own dresses for the occasion.
Grace Gothard, from Ghana, describing her union flag dress, said:
I made this dress personally. So anytime there’s any Royal occasion I make my own dresses. It took two weeks to make. The last one was the king’s coronation and that dress is in a museum now.
Satvinder Cubb, wearing a dress which reads ‘Lest We Forget’, added:
I also made my dress. I had a union flag one before but this year I wanted something simple to represent all the soldiers that actually fought. It took just a few hours to make because it’s actually two flags joined together. And I don’t have a sewing machine so it was all by hand.
The pair met at the queen’s jubilee and have attended Royal events together in handmade dresses ever since, reports the PA news agency. They arrived at the Mall at 6am this morning.
Cubb added:
I know people who have actually fought in the war. I have a very close friend, he’s 94 and was 14 at the time. It’s just about thanking them all. We’re here for a reason and have freedom now.
It’s important for us to be a part of it.
With the military procession to begin soon, those taking part in the parade have been getting into position.
About 1300 members of the armed forces, including the Royal Navy, the Royal Marines, the British army and the Royal Air Force, along with Commonwealth nations, Ukraine, and Nato allies are taking part in the military procession for VE Day.
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