As the Choir of Westminster Abbey sang For the Fallen by Douglas Guest, the King laid a wreath of poppies on behalf of the nation and the Commonwealth. Ken Hay, aged 99, who served in the 4th Battalion of the Dorsetshire Regiment, which fought in Normandy, gave Prince William a wreath of colourful flowers to lay on the grave.

At 3pm eighty years ago on May 8, 1945, then Prime Minister Winston Churchill took to the airwaves to announce that Nazi Germany had unconditionally surrendered - and that the cruelty of World War II

Britain’s King Charles and heir to the throne Prince William laid wreaths in Westminster Abbey on Thursday at the culmination of the country’s four days of commemorations to mark the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day.

Kate Middleton, Prince William, King Charles and Queen Camilla joined other royals at a Service of Thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey on the 80th anniversary of VE Day. See photos of the event.