The sacrifices of second world war veterans and their generation will be commemorated during a national service of thanksgiving inLondon, marking the80th anniversary of VE Day.
King CharlesandQueen Camillawill be joined by thePrince and Princess of Wales, prime ministerKeir Starmer, veterans and others atWestminster Abbeyto recognise the milestone.
On 8 May 1945 the nation celebratedVictory inEurope(VE) Daywith church bells ringing out across the country and people gathering to revel in the end of hostilities, with crowds famously gathering outsideBuckingham Palacecalling forKing George VI.
After almost six years of fighting againstHitler’s Nazi regimepeace was declared, with only the conflict againstJapanto be concluded.
The PA news agency reports that during the service 10-year-oldAlexander Churchill, the great-great-grandson of wartime prime ministerWinston Churchill, will light a candle of peace as young members of the congregation hand out white roses to second world war veterans.
After a national two-minute silence is observed, the king and Prince William will lay wreaths of seasonal flowers, which would have been in bloom in May 1945, at theGrave of the Unknown Warrior.
King Charles will do so on behalf of the nation and theCommonwealth, and William for the veterans and the wartime generation, with 99-year-oldKen Hay, who served in the4th Dorset infantry regiment, at their side.
At the end of the service, the tune ofWe’ll Meet Againmade famous by forces sweetheart the lateDame Vera Lynnwill be heard.
Outside the abbey Catherine will join Camilla and other royals in laying flowers at theInnocent Victims’ Memorialin tribute to all victims of war and oppression as the proceedings draw to a close.
Four days of events commemorating the 80th anniversary of VE Day will culminate on Thursday evening with a concert in London’sHorse Guards Paradeattended by the king and queen, with performances byThe Darkness,Toploader, and classical singerWillard White.
This piece of reporting, also from the Guardian’s archive, gives an insight into how the end of the second world war was celebrated by countries in Europe:
8 May 1945Scenes of rejoicing at the United Nations’ victory overGermanywere last night reported from many countries.
Rome: bells rangThe great bells of St Peter’s and those of a hundred other Rome churches rang out in jubilation soon after the news that the European war had ended reached the city. Sirens, which had last were heard as a warning of the approach of Allied ‘planes, also sounded for ten minutes.Berne: two alertsIn Switzerland, Allied flags were unfurled and crowds jammed the streets of Geneva to celebrateVE Day, but at Berne, where two air raids sounded yesterday, demonstrations were withheld until the official announcement is made.
Brussels: high spiritsAt first people were quietly jubilant, but along the sunlit boulevards, where hundred of British and American soldiers mixed joyously with the crowd, spirits rose to a high pitch.
Sweden: King’s hopeKing Gustav of Sweden expressed “warmest congratulations to Denmark and Norway now that our Nordic neighbours have one again become free and independent nations.” A second-floor restaurant in Stockholm last night hung six magnums of champagne out of the windows on ropes for passers-by to help themselves.
Dublin: “battle” of flagsAbout 3pm passers-by in the centre of the city were surprised to see students of Trinity College hoisting the Union Jack and the Red Flag over the main entrance to the university.
Paris bewilderedShortly before six o’clock the newspapers began to come out announcingDonitzhad capitulated. The sirens did not sound, however, and the crowd was puzzled, not knowing whether to believe the news.
8 May 1945
The war in Europe has ended with Germany’s unconditional surrender. Victory will be announced officially by the prime minister in a broadcast at three o’clock this afternoon and the King with broadcast at 9 pm.
To-day will be regarded asVE Day, and both to-day and to-morrow will be public holidays.
Explanation of the delay in making the official announcement lies in the importance attached to a simultaneous announcement in London, Washington and Moscow. The first news of the surrender came from German sources. At 2 pm yesterday the Danish radio announced that the German forces in Norway had capitulated and at 2.30 the German Foreign Minister,Count von Krosigk,announced the “unconditional surrender of all fighting German troops.”
You can see more of how the Guardian the reported wartime victory and the ending of hostilities inEuropeon 8 May 1945 at the link below:
Today,Europewill mark the80th anniversary of the end of the second world war, with events to take place on the continent and farther afield.
Solemn ceremonies will be held at war memorials in towns and villages acrossFranceas the country honours its dead and marks the 80th anniversary ofVictory in Europe (VE) Day, a public holiday this year, as it is every year.
Germanywill for the first time make the day a public holiday, while in theUKthe anniversary will be marked with a service atWestminster AbbeyinLondon, to begin with a national two-minute silence.
Commemoration events in the UK – which began with a military procession and Royal Air Force (RAF) flypast on Monday – will conclude with a concert atHorse Guards Paradeattended by about 10,000 people. The concert will feature stars of stage and screen includingJohn Newmanand damesJoan Collins,Mary BerryandSheila Hancock, as well as military musicians, and tell the story of victory and the legacy of the second world war in Europe.
The commemorations take place against backdrop of theUkraineconflict, rises in defence spending and aUSforeign policy shift.
PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyyhas called for allies to unite to fightRussia’s invasion of Ukraine, as Europe celebrates 80 years since the defeat of Nazi Germany in the second world war. Zelensky said in an address:
We will bring news of the ceremonies taking place across the UK and Europe as the day goes on.