Prince of Wales thanks Canadian D-Day troops for their service
The Prince of Wales stood on the beach where waves of Canadian D-Day troops broke enemy defences and thanked them for their service.
William joined Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal and a handful of elderly veterans from the campaign to liberate Europe for a ceremony commemorating their efforts and the comrades who never survived.
The event was staged just metres from Juno beach at Courseulles-sur-Mer in Normandy, where some 14,000 Canadians came ashore in the face of heavy enemy fire on June 6, 1944.
On D-Day, 359 Canadian soldiers were killed while more than 5,000 troops from the Commonwealth country would lose their lives during the course of the 11-week Battle of Normandy.
The prince and the prime ministers of France and Canada made their way down to the beach and left floral tributes after a lone piper had played a lament in the dunes as the waves crashed on the sands.
William’s wreath had the handwritten note: “Remembering all Canadian acts of bravery and sacrifice 80 years ago.
“Lest we forget. N’oublions jamais.”
Earlier during the ceremony, the invited audience and dignitaries stood as one to applaud the veterans.
The old men, many in wheelchairs but proudly wearing their medals, military uniforms or regimental berets looked out over the sand dunes to the beaches.
In a speech, William told the former servicemen: “I want to thank you, our veterans, for your extraordinary acts of bravery and sacrifice, on Juno Beach, and the liberation of Europe.
“All of you demonstrated heroism, and determination, that ensured fascism was conquered.”
He added: “Canada and the UK continue to stand, side by side as we did in 1944. Just as strong together, 80 years later.
“Ensuring the memory of those who fought for freedom lives on is why we’ve come together again today – to say thank you.
“Thank you for our freedom, and thank you for your service.”
After the ceremony, which included the playing of the Last Post and observance of a minute’s silence alongside performances from Canadian musicians, William and the politicians briefly chatted to some of the veterans.
The prince asked one old serviceman “memories bringing it all back?”, and with the area now a picturesque stretch of sand with beach homes beyond the dunes, he said “there’s been a lot of changes.”
He moved on to talk to another Canadian veteran, and when the conversation turned toward the ages of the men who fought on D-Day, the future king joked: “A lot of people were lying about their ages.”
