King Charles proudly displayed his array of medals today as he led the Royal Family in marking the 80th anniversary of D-Day in Portsmouth.
His Majesty wore ten medals, including ones marking the Coronation of his mother in 1953 and his own enthronement last year.
Medals commemorating Queen Elizabeth II’s four jubilees – starting with Silver and ending with Platinum – were also on the King’s chest.
Around his neck was the Order of Merit, an illustrious grouping with just 24 members.
Above his medals were badges representing the Royal British Legion, the Remembrance Poppy and Charles’ status as an Armed Forces veteran.
Prince William also wore his own collection of medals.
They included the Great Master of The Most Honourable Order of the Bath around his neck; Golden, Diamond and Platinum Jubilee medals and the King’s Coronation Medal
The Order of Merit’s 24 living members include the artist David Hockney and former Australian prime minister John Howard.
The award is in the personal gift of the Sovereign.
Other members include the Ghanaian-British architect David Adjaye, who designed the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, and Canadian Margaret MacMillan, professor of history at the University of Toronto and emeritus professor of international history at Oxford University.
Both the King and Queen appeared overcome with emotion as Charles paid tribute to the ‘courage, resilience and solidarity’ of veterans in Portsmouth.
Addressing the crowd, Charles said: ‘The stories of courage, resilience and solidarity we have heard today and throughout our lives cannot fail to move us, to inspire us and to remind us of what we owe to that great wartime generation.
‘It is our duty to ensure that we and future generations do not forget their service and their sacrifice in replacing tyranny with freedom.’
The King’s appearance at the event in Portsmouth was his first public speech and his most high-profile appearance since his cancer diagnosis.
Charles faced breezy conditions on stage as he spoke, with his speech notes blowing around in his hand.
The King praised the ‘truly collective effort’ of those on the Home Front during the Second World War and said Britain today was ‘eternally’ indebted to those who served.
After the event, Charles met with 21 veterans – with one sharing a joke with him and revealing that he had served on the same ship as the King’s father, the late Duke of Edinburgh.
Keith Whiting, 98, who served with the Royal Marines, said: ‘It was marvellous, we shared two or three jokes, I served on board the HMS Ramillies when Prince Philip was on there, so we talked about one or two things.
It was such a marvellous turnout.’
Another veteran, Roy Hayward, 98, who served as a reserve tank crewman and landed on Gold Beach, met with the King after appearing on stage during the show.
After meeting members of the royal family, he told the PA news agency: ‘I thoroughly enjoyed every one of them, I thought they were super actually, I was most impressed by the way they chatted to me and were so friendly.
‘They asked me how I got on and how I had my legs blown off.’
William wore medals during his address, including the Great Master of The Most Honourable Order of the Bath around his neck, Golden, Diamond and Platinum Jubilee medals and a coronation medal.
The Prime Minister also wrote a piece for the programme, in which he said ‘we must never forget how much we owe’ those who took part in D-Day.
At the event, Rishi Sunak read an address by Field Marshal Montgomery, which was delivered to the troops ahead of the D-Day landings.
Dame Helen Mirren formally introduced the event at around 11am, where she praised the bravery of the veterans in attendance.
Children waved miniature Union flags as actor Phil Dunster came on stage in 1940s military garb to read a letter written by Major Rodney Maude of the Royal Engineers written 48 hours before D-Day.
Call The Midwife star Helen George led an ensemble of singers in a rendition of Dame Vera Lynn’s We’ll Meet Again at the national commemorative event.
Veterans in the audience were seen singing along to the lyrics as members of the crowd waved Union flags.
The song, released in 1939, has become closely associated with the Second World War and became the basis of a 1943 musical of the same name set during the Blitz in London.
Some veterans will attend two days of remembrance events in Portsmouth to mark the historic milestone.
The Normandy landings were the largest seaborne invasion in history, with the 1944 battle laying the foundation for an Allied victory.
Troops from the UK, the US, Canada and France attacked German forces on the beaches at Normandy in northern France on June 6 1944.
Allied troops departed from Portsmouth on June 5, so the UK and French governments will host memorial events at both ports to commemorate the D-Day landings.
Elsewhere on Wednesday, a D-Day veteran leading an act of remembrance saluted fallen soldiers as the Last Post was played at an emotional ceremony in Normandy.
Some 11 veterans with the Spirit of Normandy Trust joined commemorations in Colleville-Montgomery, sitting in the front row of the service with blankets on their laps.
Royal Navy veteran Alec Penstone, who served on HMS Campania, told the PA news agency: ‘I’m surprised I’m still here, I didn’t expect to be. I’m very lucky.’
About the ceremony, the 99-year-old said: ‘I realised how many of my wonderful shipmates… died. I don’t know how I’m still spared.’
