London, Thanasis Gavos

Presence of King Charles, Queen Camilla, Crown Prince of Wales William and political leaders, the main event is being held in Britain to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day, the risky and critical landing of the Allies on the beaches of Normandy towards the end of the Second World War.

The king and the queen appeared emotionally charged, as Charles paid tribute to the “courage, resilience and solidarity” of veterans as part of the celebrations.

Addressing veterans of the day and a crowd of other veterans and officials gathered in Portsmouth, the departure point of the forces in 1944, King Charles said that everyone owes “eternal debt” to the heroes of that enterprise.

He noted that D-Day was a partnership of 30 countries, which worked together “shaping the world and society we share today”.

“Eight decades later it is almost an impossible task to imagine the emotion that day,” the king said, noting the courage, bravery and solidarity among the 160,000 soldiers of the operation.

On Thursday, the anniversary of the landings, the British royal couple will attend a ceremony at the British Normandy Memorial in the French town of Vers-sur-Mer. Prince William will represent Britain at the big ceremony on Omaha Beach in Saint Laurent-sur-Mer, which will also be attended by leaders from around 25 countries.

William