Prince Charles and Camilla Lead Official U.K. Tributes to Mark 75th Anniversary of the End of WWII
Molly Darlington - WPA Pool/Getty Images Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall
Prince Charles was joined by Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall to honor the sacrifices of veterans on the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II.
Charles, 71, and Camilla, 73, led the British tributes to those who served in the Asia-Pacific region by taking part in a two-minute silence at a service held at the National Arboretum.
The 75th anniversary of VJ Day takes place on Aug. 15 – the day of the Japanese surrender which also marks the end of World War II. Earlier this year, in May, the end of the war in Europe was commemorated.
For Charles, VJ Day is especially poignant as his father Prince Philip, 99, and beloved mentor and great uncle, Lord Mountbatten, both served in the region during the war. Naval officer Philip was on board the ship HMS Whelp in Tokyo Bay at the time of the signing of the Japanese surrender.
As well as joining the small number of veterans, including 93-year-old Albert Wills, who served in the Royal Navy aboard HMS Indefatigable, Charles made a speech praising their heroism and sacrifice.
“From the vantage point of the twenty-first century, it is hard for us to appreciate fully the suffering endured by those who fought, or were caught up in, this theatre of war,” he said. “Drawing on his time as Supreme Allied Commander South East Asia Command my great uncle, Lord Mountbatten, helped me begin to understand the quite atrocious conditions.”
Molly Darlington - WPA Pool/Getty Images Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall
OLI SCARFF/POOL/AFP via Getty Images Princes Charles
Charles and Camilla’s appearance at the service at the National Arboretum in Staffordshire, England, at 11 a.m. marked as the symbolic start of the commemorations.
Later, a recording of Prince William giving thanks to those who served was included in a re-telling of the story of the victory on the BBC.
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Molly Darlington - WPA Pool/Getty Images Princes Charles
MOLLY DARLINGTON/POOL/AFP via Getty Images Prince Charles
Ben Birchall - WPA Pool/Getty Images Prince Charles
And Prince Philip was featured in a photo montage of the surviving World War II veterans which were shown on big screens at the Arboretum and on special locations around the U.K. on Saturday.
In the skies above the country, the spectacular Red Arrows conducted a flypast tribute over Belfast. It was the first time the squadron had done such a large flyover since the 2012 Olympics in London.
