Queen Camilla Looks Overcome with Emotion at D-Day Event Where King Charles Delivers Key Speech

On June 5, the Queen, 76, appeared emotional at the U.K.’s national commemorative event to mark the 80th anniversary of the D-Day Landings in Portsmouth, England, which she attended with King Charles and Prince William. It marked a rare outing for the three most senior working royals, and their first of several events to remember the historic military operation that changed the course of World War II.

The Prince of Wales, 41, was first to speak on stage at the service attended by British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Helen Mirren, pledging to remember “those who served and those who waved them off” before his father took the mic. The King’s speech was significant as his first major public address since the palace announced his cancer diagnosis in February and followed his return to public-facing duties in late April.

Today, we come together to honor those nearly 160,000 British, Commonwealth and Allied troops who, on 5th 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,” the King 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,” he continued, referring to the city’s key role in preparation for the D–Day campaign. “Yet all knew that both victory and failure were possible and none could know their fate.”