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By James Crawford-Smith
Royal Reporter
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King Charles III gave an emotional speech on Wednesday in Britain to mark the 80th anniversary of the World War II D-Day landings, his first major public speaking event since being diagnosed with cancer in February.
Charles was joined by Queen Camilla and Prince William in the city of Portsmouth, England, to attend the U.K.'s national commemoration event for the D-Day landings, which included ex-servicemen who had taken part in the famous military operation.
The monarch showed his emotion as he paid tribute to the bravery of the men and women who helped orchestrate and take part in the landings which formed an integral role in liberating France from Nazi occupation and hastening the end of the war on June 6, 1944.
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"Today we come together to honor those nearly 160,000 British, Commonwealth and Allied troops who, on the fifth of June 1944, assembled here and along these shores to embark on the mission which would strike that blow for freedom and be recorded as the greatest amphibious operation in history," he said.
"Those who gathered here in Portsmouth would never forget the sight. It was by far the largest military fleet the world has ever known. Yet all knew that both victory and failure were possible, and none could know their fate."
The monarch went on to pay a personal tribute to the generation that fought the war.
"The stories of courage, resilience and solidarity which we have heard today, and throughout our lives, cannot fail to move us, to inspire us, and to remind us of what we owe to that great wartime generation—now, tragically, dwindling to so few.
"It is our privilege to hear their testimony, but our role is not purely passive: it is our duty to ensure that we, and future generations, do not forget their service and their sacrifice in replacing tyranny with freedom," he said.
"Our rights, and the liberty won at such terrible cost, bring with them responsibilities to others in the exercise of that liberty. The Allied actions of that day ensured the forces of freedom secured, first, a toehold in Normandy, then liberated France, and ultimately, the whole of Europe from the stranglehold of a brutal totalitarianism."
In closing, he offered thanks to the thousands who lost their lives in the military operation, saying: "As we give thanks for all those who gave so much to win the victory, whose fruits we still enjoy to this day, let us, once again, commit ourselves always to remember, cherish and honor those who served that day and to live up to the freedom they died for by balancing rights with civic responsibilities to our country. For we are all, eternally, in their debt."
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Charles, Camilla and William will attend events in Normandy, France, connected with the 80th anniversary of D-Day, including national commemorations.
The trip is a significant move for the king, marking his first international visit since being diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer in February.
After scaling back his working schedule on the advice of his doctors while receiving treatment, Charles was cleared to resume public-facing duties in April.
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek*'s royal reporter, based in London. You can find him on X (formerly Twitter) at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on* Newsweek*'s The Royals Facebook page.*
Do you have a question about Charles and Camilla, William and Princess Kate, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.
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