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KING'S BRAVERY
Brave Charles was having cancer treatment but still made it to two D-Day events – he was desperate to honour the fallen
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KING Charles was still able to bravely make it to two D-Day events despite facing cancer treatment as he was desperate to honour our veterans.
The 75-year-old monarch was in a London hospital on Tuesday but joined veterans and world leaders in Normandy later in the week to “lead from the front”.
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With medical advice and support from Camilla and the Prince of Wales, Charles was able to make the appearances through “carefully calibrated” arrangements.
The Sun's Royal Editor Matt Wilkinson told how: "He had cancer treatment on Tuesday. He was at a London hospital for treatment but he was so keen to get to both events they carefully calibrated the Portsmouth event.
"Charles arrived 45 minutes late to the event for medical reasons because he was recovering from cancer treatment.
"Then he immediately went to France for the British event. Then he left before the international event.
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"He was desperate to go to both. The cancer treatment is hard but he was so keen to get to both of them."
The King travelled to Portsmouth on Wednesday morning and delivered an eight-minute address that left tears in Queen Camilla’s eye.
He still found the time to mingle with D-Day heroes and read out a touching speech hailing the generation who “did not flinch”.
Charles then travelled 125 miles to Normandy for 80th anniversary ceremonies.
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There he gave a passionate speech at the British Normandy Memorial where the names of 22,442 heroes who died are etched.
He hailed when the moment to act came. And he urged the world to learn from the past, calling on free nations to “stand together to oppose tyranny”.
Royal sources said: “All events were looked at in consultation with doctors. They were extremely long days and some compromises had to be made.”
Charles' dedication to veterans came as the Prime Minister left D-Day celebrations early.
Rishi Sunak's decision was labelled a “significant mistake” by Veterans' Minister Johnny Mercer yesterday.
Sunak flew home from France to film an interview with ITV, sending Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron in his place to an international event.
The King and Queen had an emotional face-to-face with D-Day heroes who described their wartime heroics in Buckingham Palace
The PM issued a grovelling apology for skipping the commemorative ceremony, conceding: “It was a mistake not to stay in France longer and I apologise."
Mercer told The Sun: “Obviously it’s a mistake.
“The PM on these visits receives a lot of advice on what he should and shouldn’t be doing.
“I’ve spoken to the PM this morning and obviously it’s disappointing, but I do find the faux outrage from people who've done nothing but make my life difficult trying to improve Veterans’ Affairs is pretty nauseating."
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Charles spent three nights in hospital in January with an enlarged prostate and tests later revealed he had cancer.
The Sun revealed in April how doctors were so impressed with his recovery progress that he had been cleared to return to carefully prepared front-line duties.
The King's Speech
THE King paid tribute to the "remarkable war-time generation.
Charles said: "Eighty years ago on D-Day, the 6th of June 1944, our nation - and those which stood alongside it - faced what my grandfather, King George VI, described as the supreme test.
"How fortunate we were, and the entire free world, that a generation of men and women in the United Kingdom and other allied nations did not flinch when the moment came to face that test.
"On the beaches of Normandy, on the seas beyond and in the skies overhead, our armed forces carried out their duty with a humbling sense of resolve and determination - qualities so characteristic of that remarkable war-time generation.
"Very many of them never came home, they lost their lives on the D-Day landing grounds or in the many battles that followed.
"It is with the most profound sense of gratitude that we remember them and all those who served at that critical time.
"We recall the lesson that comes to us again and again across the decades - free nations must stand together to oppose tyranny."
Charles continued: "As the years pass, the veterans of the Normandy campaign become ever fewer in number.
"Over the past 40 years, I have had the great privilege of attending seven D-Day commemorations in Normandy and meeting so many distinguished veterans.
"Indeed, I shall never forget the haunting sight and sound of thousands of bemedaled figures proudly marching past into a French sunset on these beaches.
"Our ability to learn from their stories at first hand diminishes but our obligation to remember them, what they stood for and what they achieved for us all can never diminish."
Concluding his speech, the King spoke of his "unfailing" gratitude to those who lost their lives on D-Day 80 years ago.
Charles said: "This vital start to the liberation of Europe was a vast Allied effort.
"American, British, Canadian, French and Polish formations fought here in Normandy.
"Among the names inscribed on the walls and pillars of this memorial are men and women from more than 30 different nations and many faiths.
"United, they fought together for what my grandfather, King George VI, described as 'a world in which goodness and honour may be the foundation of the life of men in every land'.
"As we stand alongside their remaining friends and comrades on this hallowed ground, let us affirm that we will strive to live by their example, let us pray such sacrifice need never be made again and let us commit to carrying forward their resounding message of courage and resilience in the pursuit of freedom, tempered by the duty of responsibilities to others for the benefits of younger generations and those yet unborn.
"Our gratitude is unfailing and our admiration eternal."
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