The Duke and Duchess Chat with Veterans for 75th Anniversary of VE Day

Today is the 75th anniversary of the end of World War Two in Europe. To mark the Victory in Europe anniversary, the Duke and Duchess did a video call with veterans at the Royal British Legion’s Mais House Care Home.

A social media post about the anniversary this morning from Kensington Palace. The Palace released the video of the couple’s call this evening, noting “…we pay tribute to the service of the entire WW2 generation — from British, Commonwealth and Allied Forces to evacuees and those who served on the home front.”

More from The Telegraph’s coverage: 

They spoke to four veterans including 101-year-old Charles Ward, who served in the Special Operations Executive and passed on encrypted messages from Winston Churchill, as well as staff.

Explaining how he ended the war as a sergeant stationed in Greece, Mr Ward said:  “VE Day was very good – I had to go round and give all the men a drink of rum.”

“I bet you were the hero of the time there,” the Duke told him, laughing.

The Telegraph also reports Kate talked about her grandmother: “Speaking of her own grandmother, who served at Bletchley Park, she said: “It’s so sad that she’s not here today – I’d love to speak to her more about it.”

Readers may recall the visits the Duchess has made to Bletchley Park, the famous code-breaking facility. Here you see her speaking with veterans who worked at Bletchley Park during a visit last May.

Commemorations that were originally planned for the day included a Service of Thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey, a procession down the Mall, a flypast at Buckingham Palace featuring the Red Arrows and the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, and a tea party for veterans at St. James’s Park.  

Below, Piccadilly Circus on May 8, 1945.

The scene at Buckingham Palace (from left to right): Princess Elizabeth, Queen Elizabeth, King George VI, Princess Margaret.

Princess Elizabeth is wearing her Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) uniform in the photo; she joined the service in 1945 when she was eighteen and trained as a driver and mechanic.

Obviously, today’s celebrations had to be scaled back. The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall laid a wreath this morning. 

After leading the nation in a two-minute silence on #VEDay75, The Prince of Wales lays a wreath and The Duchess of Cornwall lays flowers in remembrance of those who died in the Second World War. pic.twitter.com/mZJgc2WBtW

— Clarence House (@ClarenceHouse) May 8, 2020

 Princess Anne, as well as the Earl and Countess of Wessex, also made calls to veterans.

The RAF’s Red Arrows did a flypast. 

There were many other events marking the occasion throughout the country and throughout Europe. And this evening at 9pm, the same time her father addressed the nation in 1945, a speech by HM was broadcast.

“Never give up, never despair – that was the message of VE Day”

An address by Her Majesty The Queen on the 75th anniversary of VE Day #VEDay75 pic.twitter.com/prgBXCdRHF

— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) May 8, 2020

 You may have noted the photo The Queen had on her desk of her father. You could also see her cap from her ATS uniform.

In her story about Kate and William’s call, Rebecca English reports George and Charlotte are learning a special song from the era. 

More from the story. 

Kate revealed Prince George and Princess Charlotte have been asked by their teachers to learn Dame Vera Lynn’s famous wartime anthem.

She said: ‘The school has set all the children a challenge and they’re currently trying to learn the lyrics to the song We’ll Meet Again… so it’s been really lovely having that playing every day.’  

Now for our coverage of what Kate wore in the video. It very much looked like she had on the ‘Cayla’ dress by LK Bennett, first seen at Wimbledon in 2015.  

The midi-length dress is 100% polyester with a round neck, concealed back zipper, elbow-length sleeves, and princess seams that give it the fit and flare silhouette the Duchess likes.

Many thanks to Natasha for her early heads-up on the call and Kate’s dress! 

Kate brought back the Patrick Mavros Ocean Tides Milky Quartz Earrings with 18ct Gold in Silver ($1014) earrings first seen in a call released on the 3rd.

Here is a final thought about the day via Nigel Stevens of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. 

VIDEOS: 

Here is the full call, running just a bit less than 5 minutes. 

This is two minutes of The Queen speaking about what she did the night of VE Day, it is remarkable to listen to the story. 

‘I remember lines of unknown people linking arms and walking down Whitehall, all of us just swept along on a tide of happiness and relief.’

The Queen was 19 years old on VE Day. More than thirty years later, she recorded her memories for a unique BBC Broadcast. #VEDay75 pic.twitter.com/jWf4bebj2e

— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) May 8, 2020

 The Red Arrows performed a flyover. 

The #RedArrows flypast for #VEDay75 was a team effort. This video edited by team photographer Corporal Adam Fletcher goes behind-the-scenes. Plus read more here: https://t.co/KMDcyDh7I9 pic.twitter.com/av6WzLLXLZ

— Red Arrows (@rafredarrows) May 8, 2020

And for those fond of Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance, here is more of the Red Arrows. 

Did you see coverage of the #RedArrows over #London today to mark the 75th anniversary of VE Day? Watch this wonderful film put together by @BBCStudiosLive featuring images from our team and learn more about #VEDay75 programmes here: https://t.co/g5kqUz4jpH pic.twitter.com/OxS4nj04Kx

— Red Arrows (@rafredarrows) May 8, 2020

 This Royal British Legion tweet is a quick summary about VE Day. 

Today marks 75 years since #WW2 ended in Europe. Join us as we come together for a tribute to the WW2 generation and reflect on the challenges faced then and now. This is the start of our WW2 commemorations leading up to #VJDay on 15 August. ➡️ https://t.co/QKAaSiUnmq #VEDay75 pic.twitter.com/UbI3Fa1tgv

— Royal British Legion (@PoppyLegion) May 8, 2020

 This is a 2-hour+ Royal British Legion broadcast as events commemorating the day unfolded. 

 

LINKAGE: 

• The Telegraph’s story by Hannah Furness on the call is here; The Daily Mail’s story about the video call is here; The Mirror’s coverage is here; Stephanie Petit’s People piece is here; a Hello! story is here
• The BBC story about the Queen’s address is here; Victoria Murphy’s Town and Country piece (including the full text) is here; The Daily Mail’s coverage of The Queen’s speech is here; Vanity Fair’s article on it is here