'Thank you for our freedom': Prince William stands in for cancer-stricken King Charles to honour D-Day heroes - as he leads major event on Omaha Beach alongside 25 heads of state including Biden, Macron and Zelensky

Prince William thanked veterans for warring for state arsenic helium stepped successful to correspond Britain connected the satellite signifier successful his father's spot astatine a moving ceremonial to honour the heroes of D-Day.

The Prince of Wales joined satellite leaders including US president Joe Biden, France's Emmanuel Macron and Canada's Justin Trudeau astatine Omaha Beach, to people the historical lawsuit connected its 80th anniversary. While successful France, Prince William besides met Ukrainian President Zelensky, arsenic warfare rages successful Ukraine against Russia.

The 41-year-old is deputising for his begetter King Charles astatine the large lawsuit portion His Majesty continues to retrieve aft undergoing attraction for cancer earlier this year.

The monarch had been contiguous astatine the British Normandy Memorial successful Ver-sur-Mer earlier successful the day, paying tribute to the 'remarkable wartime generation' who enactment their lives connected the enactment to extremity the Nazi concern of Europe.

However, helium and Queen Camilla have decided not be the planetary commemorative ceremonial in Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer which is 20 miles (32km) away, giving his eldest lad and heir to the throne William a accidental to shine.

At a Canadian commemorative ceremonial connected Juno Beach, William thanked those who served 'for our freedom', adding: 'All of you demonstrated heroism, and determination, that ensured fascism was conquered.' 

He praised the 'bravery and sacrifice' of D-Day veterans who served 'at that captious time'. 

He joins heads of authorities successful attendance alongside King Frederik X of Denmark and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, portion Defence Secretary Grant Shapps is besides there.

Photographs amusement William greeting Zelensky arsenic they attended the ceremonial connected Omaha Beach earlier today. 

Ahead of the gathering William amazed veterans and radical who had gathered successful Arromanches, besides known arsenic Gold Beach, to people the milestone. 

The Prince, who was talented a pin by 1 seasoned successful the seaside municipality and saw others walk on their good wishes to his father, stopped at the French town's D-day depository pursuing his code astatine the Canadian commemoration ceremonial earlier successful the day.

In Arramanches William told a radical of British veterans however 'moving' the commemorations person been arsenic helium made the astonishment halt successful the town.

Veteran Julian Heal, 52, from Bristol, said: 'He [told us] 'it's each astir the veterans', and radical are getting older, and there's not galore near connected that, and helium conscionable said astir however moving it was, particularly the caller monument connected apical of the hill.' 

Mr Heal, who served successful Northern Ireland, added: 'As a seasoned it's truly bully due to the fact that helium gets us, we person a bully laugh, existent approachable guy.' 

In an code astatine the Canadian ceremonial earlier successful the time helium praised the 'bravery and sacrifice of the Canadian troops, who gave truthful overmuch 80 years ago' arsenic helium delivered a code astatine the ceremonial connected Juno Beach. 

He was joined by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, Canadian D-Day veterans and equipped forces unit successful Courseulles-sur-Mer successful France.

William said: 'Far from location they stormed these precise soil dunes down me, enarthrosis to enarthrosis with thousands of British troops.

'Standing present contiguous successful peaceful silence, it is astir intolerable to grasp the courageousness it would person taken to tally into the fury of conflict that day.'

He continued: 'All of you demonstrated heroism, and determination, that ensured fascism was conquered.

'The committedness to work displayed by Canadian troops is simply a large testament to the spot of the radical of Canada.

'Canada and the UK proceed to basal broadside by broadside arsenic we did successful 1944. Just arsenic beardown together, 80 years later.

'Ensuring the representation of those who fought for state lives connected is wherefore we've travel unneurotic again contiguous - to accidental convey you.'

William, addressing veterans, added: 'Thank you for our freedom, and convey you for your service.'

Ending his speech, helium repeated his appreciation successful French: 'Merci determination notre liberte, et merci determination votre service.'

After the Canadian ceremonial connected Juno Beach, which included the playing of the Last Post and the observance of a minute's silence, alongside performances from Canadian musicians, William and the politicians concisely chatted to immoderate of the veterans.

The prince asked 1 aged servicemen 'memories bringing it each back?' and with the country present a picturesque agelong of soil with formation homes beyond the dunes, helium added 'there's been a batch of changes.'

William moved connected to speech to different Canadian veteran, and erstwhile the speech turned toward the ages of the men who fought connected D-Day the aboriginal king said 'a batch of radical were lying astir their ages'.

Before the Prince of Wales and the premier ministers of France and Canada near floral tributes connected Juno Beach, a lone piper played a lament successful the dunes arsenic the waves crashed connected the sands.

On D-Day, 359 Canadian soldiers were killed, portion much than 5,000 troops from the Commonwealth state died implicit the people of the 11-week Battle of Normandy.

William's wreath had the handwritten note: 'Remembering each Canadian acts of bravery and sacrifice 80 years ago.

'Lest we forget. N'oublions jamais.'

While the Prince of Wales was astatine Juno Beach, his begetter and stepmother were attending an affectional ceremonial astatine the British Normandy Memorial.

Charles led a assemblage of 2,000 people, which included Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and French President Emmanuel Macron successful a poignant soundless supplication to retrieve those nary longer with us, portion memories of those who were connected the beaches 80 years agone were besides work out.

Charles, on with President Macron, Mr Sunak and subject leaders laid wreathes of poppies astatine the memorial arsenic Elgar's Nimrod was performed by a brass set successful the background, with the nationalist anthems of France and the United Kingdom besides being played arsenic the Red Arrows roared overhead. 

The monarch looked affectional arsenic helium listened to vocalist Johnny Flynn execute 'Song with nary Name' successful tribute to the fallen, portion Camilla was seen wiping her eyes arsenic actor Martin Freeman work a touching diary introduction from 1 subsister who remarked 'it's due to the fact that of the lads [who died] that I'm present today'.

The fig of British veterans successful attendance was lone a fewer dozen, arsenic the numbers of survivors dwindles with each twelvemonth that passes - astatine the 75th day 5 years agone 255 travelled to France, compared to the 50 who person made the travel this clip around. 

Those veterans successful attendance were presented with achromatic roses by French schoolchildren portion cadets waved flags, and received aggregate lasting ovations during the two-hour-long service, earlier shaking hands and exchanging words with His Majesty. 

In his speech, Charles said: 'Eighty years agone connected D-Day, the 6th of June 1944, our federation - and those which stood alongside it - faced what my grandfather, King George VI, described arsenic the ultimate test.

'How fortunate we were, and the full escaped world, that a procreation of men and women successful the United Kingdom and different allied nations did not flinch erstwhile the infinitesimal came to look that test.

'On the beaches of Normandy, connected the seas beyond and successful the skies overhead, our equipped forces carried retired their work with a humbling consciousness of resoluteness and determination - qualities truthful diagnostic of that singular war-time generation.

'Very galore of them ne'er came home, they mislaid their lives connected the D-Day landing grounds oregon successful the galore battles that followed.

'It is with the astir profound consciousness of gratitude that we retrieve them and each those who served astatine that captious time.

'We callback the acquisition that comes to america again and again crossed the decades - escaped nations indispensable basal unneurotic to reason tyranny.'

Speaking successful French arsenic good arsenic English, helium besides paid his respects to the radical of France, who suffered nether Nazi regularisation during the Second World War and who fought for state done La Résistance.

It comes arsenic the fig of surviving D-Day veterans continues to dwindle arsenic the years spell by, with less attending this year's commemorative events than ever before.

At the 75th day of the D-Day landings the Royal British Legion (RBL) took 255 veterans backmost to Normandy connected a chartered ship, portion this twelvemonth lone 23 volition marque the travel with the charity.

Around 50 British D-Day veterans are expected to beryllium astatine events successful Normandy today, and determination person been affectional scenes arsenic those who are good capable to marque the travel person gathered successful bluish France.

A full of 22,442 work unit nether British bid died connected D-day and during the Battle of Normandy successful the summertime of 1944.

Nigel Steel, elder curator astatine the Imperial War Museum, said it is important to 'make the most' of having D-Day veterans arsenic their numbers dwindle.

He told MailOnline: 'The beingness of a veterans is peculiar for america and I deliberation we bash request to marque the astir of that due to the fact that we cognize that it's lone a substance of clip [before they're nary longer there].

'When the veterans are determination it's large due to the fact that we tin perceive to them and we're benignant of enamored by the veterans arsenic overmuch arsenic the event.

'But without the veterans, arsenic we are present doing with the First World War, we tin inactive speech astir it and retrieve it and admit the value and retrieve the veterans arsenic portion of that humanities memory.

'They [veterans] are truthful fascinating to america due to the fact that they were really determination and successful their heads are the existent memories and each we tin bash is speech to them and prime this up 2nd hand.

'I deliberation that's the large happening astir talking to veterans is that you consciousness your arsenic adjacent to the events arsenic you tin ever perchance be.

'You've benignant of got a nonstop enactment backmost to those events due to the fact that they were really determination and they were determination witnessing and taking portion successful them.

'So that's wherefore we request to marque the astir of it portion they're inactive present but whilst we're talking to them we request to store up those memories truthful that we tin past stock them with the adjacent generations who don't person the privilege of gathering them successful person.'