King Charles and Queen Camilla joined Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer at the National Memorial Arboretum on Friday to mark the 80th anniversary of VJ Day. The service was attended by centenarian veterans, their families, and serving military personnel.

Before the two-minute silence, the King laid a wreath while the Queen placed a posy of flowers at the Armed Forces Memorial. The day followed Charles’ earlier broadcast in which he praised those who “gave us more than freedom – they left us the example of how it can and must be protected.”

But it was an unscheduled moment that left Queen Camilla visibly emotional.

Veteran breaks script to salute the King

Captain Yavar Abbas, 105, who served with the 11th Sikh Regiment of the British Indian Army, had been invited to read from his wartime diaries. Instead, he paused to address the monarch directly.