How the royals are celebrating VE Day
What’s on, where and who will be there from the Palace
There will be few celebrations left with living servicemen and women, so the nation will come together once again, to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day. And the Royal Family will be leading the events.
Over the upcoming Bank Holiday weekend, Charles and Camilla, as well as William, Catherine and it’s expected, their children, will attend a series of events including a Buckingham Palace balcony fly-past and tea party for veterans and their families. On Bank Holiday Monday, the King, Queen, Prince and Princess of Wales, as well as Edward and Sophie, Anne and Tim, plus Edward, Duke of Kent, will be joined by PM Keir Starmer to watch a military procession down The Mall. The Duke of Kent’s father George was killed in a plane crash in World War II and aged 89, he is now the only working royal left with memories of WWII.
Made up of 1,300 members of the Armed Forces, the parade starts at noon, after which the Royal Family will go on the balcony and watch a fly-past, followed by a tea party in Buckingham Palace for British and Commonwealth veterans. The public is invited to line the Mall to watch.
On Tuesday, Camilla will visit the new poppy installation at the Tower of London – where 30,000 ceramic poppies are being displayed inside the Tower, to resemble ‘a wound’. Then on VE Day itself – Thursday, May 8 – the Royal Family will attend a service at Westminster Abbey and Charles and William will lay wreaths at the Grave of the Unknown Warrior. That evening, the family will watch a concert at Horse Guards Parade.
We love this old footage, above, and photo of VE Day, in 1945. This was when Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret famously went into the crowd to celebrate and look back at their parents on the Buckingham Palace balcony. For more, visit ve80.com
The King and Queen’s controversial new portrait
Here we go again – it seems every time there’s a new royal portrait, everyone declares it awful. The King and Queen appear on the cover of Tatler magazine, in a piece of art by Phillip Butah. The Telegraph critic described it as a “snarling two-headed monster”, but we think that’s very harsh, and like it. Butah was invited by the King and Queen to be the tour artist on a state visit to Kenya in 2023 and later, to paint this portrait to mark their 20th wedding anniversary. For more royal art, the King is sharing his travel secrets in a new exhibition in Buckingham Palace this summer, called The King’s Tour Artists, plus a book, The Art of Royal Travel: Journeys with The King. Visit rct.uk
William attends the Pope’s funeral
Under a glorious blue Italian sky, it was a big day at the Vatican yesterday as the world said farewell to the ‘People’s Pope’ and the Prince of Wales was there to pay his respects too. It marked the first time that William officially represented the King at a significant funeral on the international stage.
He was joined by Sir Keir Starmer. the UK Prime Minister, where they both stood together for a moment’s silence in front of Pope Francis’s coffin, placed before the altar in St Peter’s Basilica. With some 55 heads of state, 14 heads of government and 12 reigning monarchs attending Saturday’s morning service, William was seen chatting to the French President Emmanuel Macron and Spain’s King Felipe and Queen Letizia.
Royal duty came before personal pleasure in Rome yesterday. William, a massive Aston Villa fan, missed his team playing in an FA Cup semi final at London’s Wembley Stadium. There was no miracle intervention for his football club. They lost 3-0 to Crystal Palace.
While Catherine did not join William at the Pope’s funeral, however this Tuesday the couple will travel for an overnight visit to the Isles of Mull and Iona, situated off the west coast of Scotland, where they will celebrate their 14th wedding anniversary.
Happy Birthday, Charlotte!
The princess will be celebrating hitting double figures this week, her 10th birthday on Friday. We wish her a fabulous day full of love and laughter and can’t wait to see this year’s photo marking the event. Last year’s birthday pic (see above) was taken by Catherine at Windsor, with Charlotte posing next to pale pink flowers, Clematis montana var. rubens ‘Elizabeth’, one of the first plants named in honour of her great-grandmother. Happy birthday, Lottie!
Read more from The Royal List writers
Finally, we - Kerry and Maria - love researching and writing royal features for top-selling brands, which is why we are thrilled to have several articles - and the cover story - in yet another cracking issue of WOMAN Royal Special. Find it on sale in all good UK supermarkets and newsagents or buy yours here. Watch this space, there’s another crown jewel of an issue out this July!