Wreaths at the Abbey... and later a plea from the King to bequeath a better world: ROBERT HARDMAN reflects on the conclusion to Britain's VE Day 80 celebrations

Daily Mail​

08-05-2025

All this week, the spotlight had been fixed firmly on the events of May 1945 and Victory in Europe. Last night, the King concluded Britain's 80th anniversary commemorations by swinging that beam through 180 degrees and directing it forward to the future, urging today's world leaders to 'rededicate' themselves to the noble ideals of the wartime generation.
Addressing last night's national concert on Horse Guards Parade, the monarch reminded an open-air audience of 12,000 veterans, charity workers and winners of a ticket lottery – plus millions of BBC viewers – of the VE Day words of his grandfather, King George VI: 'We shall have failed, and the blood of our dearest will have flowed in vain, if the victory which they died to win does not lead to a lasting peace.'
With that in mind, the King went on: 'In turn, it falls to us to protect and continue their precious legacy – so that one day hence generations yet unborn may say of us, 'They too bequeathed a better world'.'
His was a deliberately dramatic intervention in a two-hour TV spectacular designed to switch the national mood from commemoration to celebration, mirroring the atmosphere on the same night in 1945.
Coming after a tribute to the Andrews Sisters plus a tour de force from a trio of Dames (Mary Berry, Joan Collins and Sheila Hancock) and before a reprise of Dad's Army, the evening's programme stated: 'Film: George VI's speech.'
Suddenly, up on stage, to robust applause, appeared his grandson. Though clearly on a lesser scale, and in very different circumstances, this was a surprise sweetly reminiscent of the late Queen doing her magnificent turn with James Bond at the opening of the 2012 London Olympics. The King had been offered the option of pre-recording last night's speech. He had elected to do the whole thing live.
The moment had been timed, to the minute, to replicate the same moment – 9pm – when his grandfather had broadcast to an exhausted, exhilarated nation on May 8, 1945. Charles III reminded last night's audience of the euphoria felt by all, including his late mother who was allowed to join the London crowds as a 19-year-old princess and subaltern in the Auxiliary Territorial Service.
'She mingled anonymously in the crowds across central London and 'walked for miles' among them,' said the King, quoting extracts from her diary. The next day, for example, she had written: 'Out in the crowd again. Embankment, Piccadilly. Rained, so fewer people. Conga-ed into House. Sang till 2am. Bed at 3am!'
Though the Government had extended pub openings by two hours last night, the 76-year-old King was not going to emulate his teenage mother. 'I do hope your celebrations tonight are almost as joyful,' he added, 'although I rather doubt I shall have the energy to sing until 2am, let alone lead you all in a giant conga from here back to Buckingham Palace!'
Because the Government only confirmed these commemorations two months ago, booking acts and celebrities had all been somewhat last minute. Thanks to the London Marathon, the entire stage and arena was only built this week. It made this event all the more impressive as it struck that upbeat note which had been missing until last night.
Eclectic to say the least, it included everything from a Lancaster flypast to rock band, The Darkness. An equally stirring concert, supported by the Daily Mail and Classic FM, filled the Royal Albert Hall last night (it was also rather warmer for the veterans).
Many other veterans had opted for the Royal British Legion's tea party at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire.
As with Monday's big parade down the Mall and the Queen's unveiling of the magnificent new poppy display at the Tower of London, the spirit and tempo of the 80th had hitherto been sombre and reflective, deliberately so.
Some readers may recall 1995, when Britain marked the 50th anniversary. Back then, there had been exuberant concerts filling Hyde Park, much jitterbugging into the night and a jolly old sing-song in front of Buckingham Palace led by the late Queen and Queen Mother.
In those days, though, there were tens of thousands of veterans still with us and a sense of a bright new dawn following the recent collapse of the Iron Curtain. Three decades on, with war back on European soil and just a few dozen veterans now able to attend big national events, it hardly seemed like a moment for congas and carousing this time around. The day began at Westminster Abbey, where the King, the Queen and the Royal Family joined 70 veterans and other members of the wartime generation for a National Service of Thanksgiving.
It opened with the King and the Prince of Wales laying wreaths at the Grave of the Unknown Warrior, flanked by several old soldiers. I spotted indefatigable Normandy veteran Ken Hay (late of the 4th Dorsets before becoming a prisoner of war).
'Out in the crowd again. Embankment, Piccadilly. Rained, so fewer people. Conga-ed into House. Sang till 2am. Bed at 3am!' the late queen wrote in her diary who celebrated VE day
The overarching message of the occasion was the price so dearly paid for peace. 'Blessed are the peacemakers,' said the Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, reading from Matthew 5. This was the sort of state occasion where we expect to hear from the Archbishop of Canterbury but, six months on from the resignation of Justin Welby, we still await a replacement. It was not lost on many of yesterday's worshippers that, at this very moment, the Vatican was making a mockery of the Anglican selectors. And so it was that the Archbishop of York entered the pulpit.
The Most Reverend Stephen Cottrell opened his address on the same 'blessed are the peacemakers' theme, and quoted Jesus: 'When we are peacemakers, we become God's children.' He finished by repeating the words of yesterday's second hymn, I Vow To Thee My Country: 'Our world must follow him again, seeking that kingdom 'whose ways are gentleness... whose paths are peace'.'
One of the most moving moments, however, was a testimony of war. Actor Josh Dylan read out an enchanting letter home from Lance-Corporal Frederick Burgess to his young son, Freddie. He gave a brave but cheery description of life on the Italian campaign while also urging his boy to say his prayers.
'When I do come home, and it will not be very long now, I'm going to buy you something extra specially nice for being such a good boy,' he added. The actor ended by informing us that, seven months later, L/Cpl Burgess was killed in action. The royals were not the only ones blinking hard. Somewhere in the congregation sat his granddaughter, Susan.
She must have been every bit as proud as the Churchill family when Alexander Churchill, ten, stepped forward to join the list of notables reciting the prayers. 'Let us pray for peace in Europe and across the world,' said Alexander, in clear unwavering tones which suggest that this particular apple has not fallen far from the tree marked Winston.
What a poignant day, too, for the oldest and most inconspicuous member of the Royal Family present. While the rest of the family processed down the aisle, the Duke of Kent preferred to arrive through a side door. He became Duke aged six in 1942 when his father was killed on active service in a flying accident. George VI wrote in his diary that the loss crushed him as much as any other reverse of the war. The Duke's younger brother, Prince Michael of Kent, was just two months old. Last night, he was royal guest of honour at the Royal Albert Hall.
The Prince and Princess of Wales looked to be in high spirits as they joined King Charles and Queen Camilla - as well as the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh - at a concert commemorating VE Day on Thursday
Royal duties are not over just yet. The rest of Europe might have been liberated by the time the sun came up this morning 80 years ago – but one tiny patch was still under Nazi rule.
Today, the Princess Royal heads for the Channel Islands to mark their liberation. Let it not be forgotten, too, that so many members of our Armed Forces were still fighting for their lives. Take Ted Rutherford, 99, from Gateshead. On May 8, 1945, he had been a gunner on HMS Howe in the Pacific. His thoughts yesterday? 'We never got to celebrate VE Day. As the celebrations broke out in Europe, we were being attacked by suicide bombers in Japan.
'We heard over the radio that Hitler had surrendered and heard they were partying. But our fleet was under attack. Two of our ships were hit.'
For Mr Rutherford – and all those proud holders of the Burma Star – the party, such as it is, remains on hold until August 15, when victory was declared in Japan. Let us hang on to our bunting for VJ Day.