King Charles III and Queen Camilla will travel to France on June 6 for the celebrations of the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings, Buckingham Palace announced on Friday. This will be the 75-year-old sovereign’s first trip abroad since the announcement of his cancer at the start of the year. The monarch, who resumed her public activities on April 30 while continuing her treatment against the illness, will attend a ceremony at the British memorial at Ver-sur-Mer, in Normandy. His son William will participate in the international commemoration at Omaha Beach with heads of state and veterans.
25 leaders expected for the ceremony
On June 6, French President Emmanuel Macron will welcome some 25 leaders for this international ceremony, organized on the beach of “Omaha la sange”, one of the five D-Day beaches, in Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer in Calvados. . American President Joe Biden is notably expected. The Prince of Wales, heir to the British throne, will also participate in the Canadian D-Day commemorations, organized at the Juno Beach Center in Courseulles-sur-Mer. After three months without public engagement, but while continuing to exercise certain official functions, King Charles III has resumed his public activities since April 30, at a relatively sustained pace.
The day before this trip, the monarch, Queen Camilla and Prince William are also expected in Portsmouth, on the south coast of England, for the national celebrations of the military operation which contributed to the defeat of Germany during the 2nd World War.
A key step in the liberation of Europe from the Nazi yoke, this landing is the most important in history in terms of the number of ships involved: 6,939 ships landed 132,700 men – mainly British, Americans and Canadians – in Normandy.