The Royal Family celebrate the 80th Anniversary of VE Day

VE Day 80

Their Majesties The King and Queen, together with other Members of the Royal Family, are attending events commemorating the 80th Anniversary of VE Day, marking the end of the Second World War in Europe.

Commemorations will continue throughout the week, ending on the 8th May: the 80th anniversary itself.

The programme for the week is as follows: 

Sunday 4th May

VE Day events began with commemorations in Denmark to celebrate the country's Liberation. 

Monday 5th May

The King and Queen, together with Members of the Royal Family and the Prime Minister, joined Second World War veterans to watch a military procession down The Mall to the Palace. Their Majesties and other members of the Royal Family appeared on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, as George VI had done with his family 80 years previously. 

The King and Queen then hosted a Tea Party for veterans and members of the Second World War generation at Buckingham Palace.

Tuesday 6th May

The Queen viewed a new display of ceramic poppies at The Tower of London.

Thursday 8th May

Their Majesties, joined by Members of the Royal Family, attended a Service of Thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey.

The King and Queen will attend a live celebratory concert from Horse Guards Parade to conclude the national VE Day commemorations.

Friday 9th - Saturday 10th May

The Princess Royal, accompanied by Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, will mark the 80th anniversary of the Liberation of Guernsey and Sark in the Channel Islands.

Sunday 4th May

VE Day events began with commemorations in Denmark to celebrate the country's Liberation. 

Their Royal Highnesses took part in commemorations alongside Their Majesties The King and Queen of Denmark, Her Majesty Queen Margrethe, and Her Royal Highness Princess Benedikte.

Monday 5th May

The VE Day celebrations will begin with Their Majesties, joined by The Prince and Princess of Wales, The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, The Princess Royal and Sir Tim Laurence, The Duke of Kent and the Prime Minister on the Queen Victoria Memorial.

Alongside veterans from the Royal British Legion, they will observe military units processing down The Mall in honour of those who served during the Second World War.

A traditional Balcony moment saw the Royal Family waving to crowds as King George VI and his family had done in 1945.

Once the parade has ended, the RAF Red Arrows carried out a flypast over Buckingham Palace. The Royal Family will appear on the balcony to watch, whilst Veterans watched from the Gardens with the Prime Minister and other senior guests.

Later in the day, The King, as Patron of the Royal British Legion, and The Queen hosted a tea party for veterans and members of the Second World War generation. 

Their Majesties will be joined by Members of the Royal Family, the Prime Minister, British and Commonwealth Armed Forces veterans, WRENs, Special Operations Executives and those who contributed to the war effort on the home front, accompanied by their families and carers.

To mark the special occasion, the Marble Corridor of Buckingham Palace has been decorated in bunting made from fabrics recycled from the Royal Estates.

Tuesday 6th May

This year, the Tower of London is marking the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War with a display of nearly 30,000 ceramic poppies from the 2014 commemorative art installation, Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red. The poppies are being presented in a new design within the inner walls of the Tower, resembling a ‘wound’ to reflect the long-lasting sacrifices made during the Second World War.

The Queen viewed the poppies and planted the final flower, accompanied by the youngest resident of the Tower. Her Majesty also met representatives from the Tower of London, the team behind the installation, schoolchildren and veterans. 

The Poet Laureate, Simon Armitage, performed a new poem written to mark the anniversary.

Wednesday 7th May

The Duke of Kent represented The King at a VE Day Concert performed by The Parliament Choir at Westminster Hall.

The 100-strong Parliament choir, supported by the Sinfonia Smith Square orchestra, performed classical music from countries around Europe to celebrate 80 years of peace.

Thursday 8th May - VE Day anniversary

Members of the Royal Family came together 80 years on from the day when the end of war in Europe was declared, to remember the sacrifices and the celebrations during two major commemorative events in central London. 

Service at Westminster Abbey

Their Majesties, joined by Members of the Royal Family, attended a Service of Thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey on the 80th anniversary of VE Day.

The Royal Family joined the congregation in a national two-minute silence of reflection and remembrance before His Majesty laid a wreath at the Grave of the Unknown Warrior, followed by The Prince of Wales.

The King and Queen also spoke to veterans in the congregation.

Before departing, Her Majesty laid flowers at the Innocent Victims’ Memorial, outside the Abbey’s West Door.

Other members of the Royal Family, including The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh and The Princess Royal also attended the Service.

Concert on Horse Guards Parade

The King and Queen and other members of the Royal Family attended a live, celebratory BBC concert to conclude the national VE Day commemorations.

At 9pm - the time, 80 years previously when his grandfather King George VI addressed the nation, The King gave aa speech marking the anniversary and remembering the sacrifices of the wartime generation.

In remembering the past, we must also look to the future. As the number of those who lived through the Second World War so sadly dwindles, the more it becomes our duty to carry their stories forward, to ensure their experiences are never to be forgotten. We must listen, learn and share.

Presented by Zoe Ball, with performances to echo the historic celebrations of VE Day 80 years ago, thousands of members of the public will had the opportunity to join the audience for the event, which included performances of music from the era alongside the stories of veterans from the Second World War.

Friday 9th May

The Princess Royal, accompanied by Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, visited the Island of Guernsey, on behalf of His Majesty The King, to commemorate the 80th Anniversary of the Liberation of Bailiwick.

Her Royal Highness attended a Parade to commemorate 80 years since the Liberation of Guernsey at St. Peter’s Port seafront. During the Parade, The Princess Royal received the Royal Salute before being invited to inspect the front rank of the Parade escorted by Lieutenant-Governor of the Bailiwick of Guernsey.

After inspecting The Royal Marines Band, Her Royal Highness shared a message from The King to the people of the Bailiwick of Guernsey.

I was interested to learn that this occasion will be commemorated and celebrated by people of all ages, with a focus on the ever-decreasing number who lived through the War, whether they were evacuees to the United Kingdom, stayed in occupied Guernsey or were forcibly deported to Europe. 

Read His Majesty's message in full here.

Her Royal Highness also had an opportunity to meet representatives of Guernsey’s Wartime Generation and representatives from Biberach-an-der-Riss, a town in southern Germany where the majority of the 1,003 Guernsey residents who were deported by the occupying forces in 1942 and 1943 were sent to. In recent times, links between Biberach-an-der-Riss and Guernsey have formed, focussing on peace and reconciliation.

After the Parade concluded, The Princess Royal attended a church service to commemorate the Liberation Anniversary. The parish church of St. Peter Port, also known as Town Church, held the annual Liberation Day service which was attended by representatives from the parade, including Veterans and representatives of the Occupation Generation, visiting German and French officials, emergency service representatives and members of the public.

Her Royal Highness then visited the St. Peter Port Parish 80th Anniversary celebrations. Here, Her Royal Highness listened to the Festival Choir sing in Guernésiais, before meeting representatives of Guernsey’s wartime generation, which included Mr. Roland Duquemin who stayed in Guernsey as a young boy during the occupation and remembers King George’s visit to Guernsey after Liberation; Mrs. Margaret Duquemin who was evacuated to Bradford with her mother and two sisters and Mr. Ralph Godwin who was deported to Biberach with his parents and twin brother.

Before departing, Her Royal Highness unveiled a plaque to open the new Visitors’ Centre in St. Peter Port Parish. 

From St Peter Port, The Princess Royal travelled to L'Erée on the west coast of Guernsey to attend celebrations at St. Pierre du Bois Parish. After listening to a Poetry reading and viewing a dance performance, Her Royal Highness met more representatives of Guernsey’s wartime generation. 

This includes siblings Mr. John Bourgaize, Mrs. Winnie Keyho and Mrs. Joyce Scratton (three of eighteen siblings) - all three siblings remained on the island during occupation.

After attending celebrations in St. Pierre du Bois Parish, Her Royal Highness visited Festung Guernsey at a former German gun battery. Festung Guernsey preserves the fortifications built by the Germans and The Princess Royal toured the underground complex at Batterie Mirus, the largest naval battery in the Channel Islands.

Saturday 10th May

The Princess Royal, accompanied by Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, visited Sark and Little Sark – becoming the first Member of the Royal Family to ever visit Little Sark.

On arrival in Little Sark, The Princess met residents before travelling by horse and carriage to La Coupée, a narrow walkway connecting Big Sark and Little Sark. 

Walking along the path, Her Royal Highness heard about the history of La Coupée and recent erosion and repair work.

The Princess received a brief on Operation Basalt and Operation Hardtack whilst walking part of the East Coast Path. Operation Basalt (October 1942) and Operation Hardtack (December 1943) were British commando raids on Sark Island during World War II, both aimed at gathering intelligence and capturing German prisoners. 

Afterwards, The Princess Royal visited la Société Sercquaise (the Sark Society), an organisation founded in 1975 to study, preserve and enhance Sark’s natural environment and cultural heritage to meet volunteers and view archaeological artefacts.

The Princess Royal will then attend the 80th Anniversary of the Liberation of Sark celebrations. During the celebrations, Her Royal Highness met representatives from the Liberated Generation before saying a few words.

After planting a silver birch tree to commemorate the 80th Anniversary, The Princess Royal viewed an exhibition on World War II at Old Island Hall. The exhibition focuses on the island’s experiences during the German occupation and life up to the present day. 

Each display covers a different aspect of the occupation years, including a section on ‘The Deportees’; residents of Sark who were deported from Sark by the German occupying forces.

Finally, The Princess Royal visited the Sark Observatory, meeting volunteers and viewing the sun through a solar telescope, before departing.