William and Kate join celebration honoring Britain’s wartime heroes on VE Day, following Harry’s plea for reconciliation.

The 80th anniversary of VE Day was celebrated in London today with a strong presence of the Royal Family. They witnessed a magnificent Royal Air Force flypast as the UK commemorated the end of World War II in Europe.

Among those in attendance were King Charles and Queen Camilla, accompanied by Prince William, Kate, and their three children: Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis. Other senior royals also joined them on the Buckingham Palace balcony for the occasion.

The highlight of the event was a breathtaking display that included the iconic Red Arrows and a variety of both historic and current military aircraft. This display followed a procession through London earlier in the day, which featured 1,300 members of the armed forces and Nato allies.

The royals’ united front commemorating the service of those who fought to bring peace to Europe and the rest of the world comes three days after Prince Harry’s bombshell plea for ‘reconciliation’ following his court defeat.

The flypast at 1.45pm featured planes involved in tensions with Russia – including P8 Poseidons, which carry out reconnaissance missions surveying Russian vessels near UK waters; and Voyager aircraft which deliver equipment to Ukrainian forces and fly Ukrainian recruits to the UK for training. Crowds gathered below on The Mall also got to see Typhoon fast jets, which are a key part of Nato Air Policing, and fifth generation F-35 Lightning fighters.

Earlier, the royals observed a military procession from a specially built dais on the Queen Victoria Memorial outside Buckingham Palace while thousands of people packed the streets as four days of commemorations began.

William shook the hand of one veteran as he passed him to take his seat, and his children followed his example with Kate the last to greet the old serviceman and she sat beside him. He later appeared to show her some photographs.

Louis then briefly struggled to gain the attention of his father – tapping his shoulder repeatedly while William was in conversation. After a few moments, William turned to his son and they spoke. George, Charlotte and Louis were last seen together in public when they attended the Christmas Day church service on the Sandringham estate.

Charles chatted to Joy Trew, 98, who enlisted in the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force aged 17 in 1944 and served as a wireless operator working at RAF Chicksands Priory in Bedfordshire, a station taking morse code messages from stations in Germany. Beside him was Camilla who had Royal British Legion veteran Jack Mortimer on her right.

Hundreds of street parties are also being held across the UK today while formal military events take place in London – while Charles will host a tea party for some of the last living heroes of the conflict as well as their families.

The VE Day plans were long in place before Harry said his ‘devastating’ loss in the Court of Appeal, which rejected his bid to reinstate his round-the-clock police bodyguard in the UK, meant his family could never return to Britain.

Harry claimed in a dramatic BBC television interview last Friday that his father Charles will not speak to him and he does not know ‘how much longer my father has’ as he spoke of his hopes for a ‘reconciliation’ with his family.

The Duke described his court defeat as a ‘good old-fashioned establishment stitch-up’, but his decision to speak out appears to have worsened the chances of an end to his estrangement, amid suggestions the King and his brother William will fear more than ever that any conversation with Harry would end up in the public domain.

Meanwhile, Harry’s wife Meghan Markle earlier posted a photo of him and their children in an apparent show of solidarity. The black and white image, which was not accompanied by a message on Meghan’s Instagram, showed Harry, from behind, walking with Princess Lilibet on his shoulders and Prince Archie holding his hand in a garden.

Today, Buckingham Palace hopes the position of senior royals at the forefront of VE Day commemorations will refocus attention on their unifying role and positive contribution to public life, as opposed to Harry’s latest salvos.

It is understood that, for the surviving veterans’ sake, the ‘fervent hope’ is that nothing will detract or distract from ‘celebrating with full cheer and proud hearts that precious victory and those brave souls, on this most special and poignant of anniversaries’.

A palace aide said: ‘The King, Queen and other members of The Royal Family are much looking forward to all the week’s VE Day events, when they will unite with the rest of the nation and those across the Commonwealth and wider world in celebrating, commemorating and giving thanks to the wartime generation whose selfless devotion duty and service should stand as an enduring example to us all – and must never be forgotten.’

Charles was wearing Naval Uniform No.1 dress, with no medals or decorations, as his grandfather King George VI wore on the palace balcony on VE Day in 1945 – while William wore RAF No.1 Uniform. 

Camilla was dressed in a sapphire blue wool crepe dress and coat, by Fiona Clare, with the 12th Royal Lancers Brooch, the regiment of her late father Major Bruce Shand.

Kate wore a dress by Emilia Wickstead, hat by Sean Barratt and an RAF wings brooch. 

The Duke of Edinburgh wore Army No.2 Service Dress of the Scots Guards, while Duke of Kent wore Field Marshal No.2 Service Dress.

Princess Anne, who was also present, wore the uniform of the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (Princess Royal’s Volunteer Corps) with no decorations. 

The late Queen Elizabeth II, as Princess Elizabeth, wore the military uniform for her palace balcony appearance on VE Day 1945 as a member of the Auxiliary Territorial Services.

In Whitehall the Cenotaph was 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.

Actor Timothy Spall kicked off commemorative events for the 80th anniversary of VE Day in London as he delivered some of the words of Sir Winston Churchill’s 1945 victory speech.

Speaking in Parliament Square in front of a statue honouring Sir 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, the bespectacled actor 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’.’

People stayed silent as the King’s Troop trumpeter sounded the beginning of the procession, and the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery led the march down Whitehall.

Crowds looked on as the procession made its way past the Cenotaph and towards Admiralty Arch.

Normandy veteran Alan Kennett, 100, who was in the RAF with the Mustang Squadron and was in Celle near Belsen on VE Day, then formally started the VE Day procession.

Garrison Sergeant Major Warrant Officer Class One Andrew Stokes, of the Coldstream Guards, asked Mr Kennett, who was 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,’ replied Mr Kennett, who had earlier been presented with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s Torch of Peace by one of the cadets.

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.

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.

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.

Crowds started to gather on The Mall this morning, with some arriving the day before to secure a good viewing spot. Caroline Tomlinson, 59, travelled from Doncaster to witness the parade and camped overnight. 

Dressed in Union flags, she said: ‘I’ve been watching lots of footage from 1945 when everybody was gathering outside the palace, so just great to be a part of it here we are again 80 years later to do the very same. I got here at 2pm yesterday afternoon, sat in the red chair all night, had a little bit of sleep.

‘I’m used to this, I’ve been to the other events. I’ve been to the Platinum Jubilee, the Coronation, the Queen’s funeral, Royal weddings. Sleeping over is now my thing. It was very cold but I dressed accordingly and got through it. Slept about three times in one-hour bursts.

‘I came here alone, the community is always so lovely. I’m absolutely hoping to catch a glimpse of the Royals.’

Michael Burn, 67, arrived at The Mall outside Buckingham Palace this morning. Dressed head to toe in a Union flag suit he said: ‘Obviously I’m very patriotic so I make the most of any of these events, the coronation or anything like that I’ll be here.

‘I think we’ve been very lucky that we’ve had 80 years of peace and these are very troubled times at the moment and we’ve got to think about all those that have the ultimate sacrifice and there’s very few of them left now because they’re all over 100. This is the last time we will celebrate the day in this sort of scale.’

Speaking of his suit and holding a seven foot Union flag he said: ‘I bought this for the London 2012 Olympics and have worn it at every Royal event since. ‘I can still get into it,’ he joked.

Lizzie McCrae MacIntyre, a retired Women’s Royal Air Force veteran, arrived at the Admiralty Arch at 4am to see the parade. Ms MacIntyre, who travelled from Surrey, said: ‘It’s so important to remember those that didn’t make it home. My dad was military, my brother was Air Force.’

Geoffrey York, 71, said: ‘We are all ex-military.’

The Household Cavalry veteran said: ‘We were here for the coronation, we camped out for three nights for the Queen’s funeral. It’s a big day for us to pay our respects. My dad was a prisoner of war in Tobruk, Libya. He escaped in 1944.’

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. They arrived at The Mall at 6am this morning.

Ms 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.’

One group of women gathered outside the palace have brought along song sheets to pass out to the crowd. They practised singing their songs ahead of the parade.

Mandy Ellis, 67, from the Midlands, said: ‘We do all the royal events. I’ve been doing this 60 years now. We all get the gang together – there’s seven of us come down. The oldest is my Auntie Linda, she’s 87. My daughter Cara, she’s the youngest.’

Wearing a Union flag hat, she said: ‘I sing in the local choir, we’ve had some song sheets over the years for different events so I just adapted them at home. We’ve got everything from Land of Hope and Glory, We’ll Meet Again, Pack Up Your Troubles, the National Anthem.

‘It’s the smallest thing we can do to say thank you for 80 years of peace and the sacrifice everyone made.’

David Smith, a military royal engineer from 1960 to 1972, travelled from Lincolnshire yesterday to honour the veterans at the parade. The 79-year-old said: ‘It’s about patriotism. It’s what we do.’

Mr Smith has marched at the Cenotaph for 26 years and will watch the parade today from The Mall.

His wife Muriel said: ‘Where we live in Lincolnshire, the ‘bomber county’, there is always a bomber base five miles from you. There’s still air raid shelters where we live.’

About the parade, the 77-year-old said: ‘I just love the songs, the ceremony, everything. I’ve heard some stories about Victory Day. Some naughty stories!’

Maria Crook, 69, travelled from Devon to London yesterday and set up to watch the procession from Whitehall early this morning.

‘I think it’s extremely important to pay our respects and honour those who have died for us,’ she said.

The 69-year-old, wearing a hat with red, white and blue ribbons tied to it, sat near the Cenotaph and attached a large Union flag with silhouettes of paratroopers on it to the barriers in front of her.

She said: ‘I came for VE Day in 2005 and the atmosphere was fantastic. I’m going to dash down to Buckingham Palace after I’ve seen the procession. I want to get a great view of the Red Arrows and hopefully see Charles too.’

Groups of cadets and scouts also gathered on the path closest to the Queen Victoria Memorial and posed for group photos with Buckingham Palace in the background.

Lesley Watson and her friend David came to 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.

Ms 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.

Laura Bill, a 1940s re-enactor from Staffordshire, said: ‘I just love the celebration of it all.’

The Bill family, who all dressed in 1940s-style clothing for the parade, travelled for three hours to Buckingham Palace.

‘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.’

Garrison Sergeant Major Vern Stokes, who is in charge of the VE Day military procession, said the participation of Ukrainian and Nato troops is a reminder that ‘allies really do matter’.

He told BBC Breakfast that it is ‘right’ for Ukrainian and Nato troops to take part in the procession in London.

He said: ‘Eighty years ago we were stronger together and today we are stronger together, and it’s just a reminder for us that allies really do matter and it’s nice for them to be able to take part.’

Calling veterans the ‘VVIPs’, he added: ‘Today is very much their day and we’re very proud to be able to honour them.’

Sir Keir Starmer said the week’s events are a reminder that victory was ‘not just for Britain’ as personnel from the US, France and Germany will be among those joining the military procession in London.

In an open letter to veterans, the Prime Minister said: ‘VE Day is a chance to acknowledge, again, that our debt to those who achieved it can never fully be repaid.’

He also praised military veterans past and present for their ‘ongoing dedication to keeping our country safe’ and said the sacrifice made by members of the Armed Forces was a ‘debt that can never fully be repaid’ .

Sir Keir wrote: ‘I want to salute your ongoing dedication to keeping our country safe. Missing birthdays, weddings, anniversaries. Not being there in the photographs. This week, the country will show you just how thankful we all are. Because we know that without your service, the freedom, peace and joy that these celebrations embody would not be possible.’

He said VE Day represented ‘a victory for good against the assembled forces of hatred, tyranny and evil. VE Day is a chance to acknowledge, again, that our debt to those who achieved it can never fully be repaid’.

Sir Keir also then said in a post on X this morning that the Government is ‘giving veterans better access to housing, employment, health and welfare support’.

Alan Kennett, a 100-year-old Normandy veteran, started the procession in London which marched down Whitehall, through Admiralty Arch and up The Mall towards Buckingham Palace.

Thirty further veterans are to attend official events today, including 26 who will watch the procession in London.

The list includes Royal Navy veteran Albert Keir, 99; Royal Engineers veteran Alfred Littlefield, aged 101; 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 will also include personnel from Poland, Lithuania and Sweden, marched in the procession wearing the uniforms of their respective nations under the Nato flag.

Representatives of the Ukrainian military, selected from the UK armed forces’ training programme for Ukrainian recruits Operation Interflex, also took part.

The procession began after Mr Kennett received the Commonwealth War Graves’ Torch For Peace by air cadet Warrant Officer Emmy Jones.

Members of the Royal Family will later make an appearance on the Buckingham Palace balcony to watch the RAF flypast.

In 1945, large crowds gathered outside Buckingham Palace to catch a glimpse of King George VI, Queen Elizabeth, and Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret.

The young Princess Elizabeth sneaked out into the streets to join the celebrating crowds and later spoke of being swept up in a ‘tide of happiness and relief’.

Following Queen Elizabeth II’s death in 2022, this year will be the first landmark VE Day commemoration without any of the royals who stood on the balcony that day.

The director general of the Royal British Legion said today that many veterans taking part in commemorations have not told their stories before.

Mark Atkinson told BBC Breakfast: ‘We want to make sure that all of our veterans are at the very heart of these commemorations so we put the call out to invite people to step forward, to share their experiences, to tell their stories and to be here today at Buckingham Palace for the start of what is a week of commemorations and celebrations.

‘But so many people coming forward having never really shared in any detail their experiences of the Second World War so we’re delighted to put them right at the centre of these commemorations.’

Mr Atkinson said RBL is supporting 30 veterans at Buckingham Palace today, aged between 98 and 104.

‘It will be one of the last opportunities that we all have to thank those veterans and their families for their service,’ he continued. ‘And hearing that first hand is incredibly important. It will soon be a historical fact – those stories and those voices and those experiences won’t be heard in the same way.’

Street parties will be held in towns and cities across the UK as part of the special events – including community tea parties, 1940s dress-up events, and gatherings aboard Second World War warships.

Veterans will enjoy sandwiches, scotch eggs and scones at the tea party at Buckingham Palace.

Also on the menu are potted shrimps with brown bread and butter, egg and bacon quiche, vegetable pasties and sausage rolls.

There will also be lemon and carrot cake, chocolate cake, treacle tarts and strawberries and cream.

They will dine on large tables in the Marble Hall which has been decorated in bunting made from fabrics recycled from the Royal estate.

Local authorities throughout the country have offered support for communities and organisations wishing to hold a VE Day street party, with some councils such as Portsmouth waiving fees to close roads for the celebrations.

The Palace of Westminster, the Shard, Lowther Castle in Penrith, Manchester Printworks, Cardiff Castle and Belfast City Hall are among hundreds of buildings which will be lit up from 9pm tomorrow.

A new display of almost 30,000 ceramic poppies at the Tower of London is also set to form another touching tribute. The poppies have been set to resemble a wound to reflect the long-lasting sacrifices made during the war.

A service at Westminster Abbey will begin with a national two-minute silence of reflection and remembrance on Thursday, where veterans will be part of the congregation.

Horse Guards Parade will then hold a live celebratory concert to round off the commemorations.

Pubs and bars have also been granted permission to stay open for longer to mark the anniversary. Venues in England and Wales which usually close at 11pm will be able to keep serving for an extra two hours to celebrate on Thursday.

Churches and cathedrals across the country will ring their bells as a collective act of thanksgiving at 6.30pm, echoing the sounds that swept across the country in 1945, the Church of England said.