VE Day in pictures: Royals, Red Arrows flypast and crowds of thousands

Offical celebrations kicked off on Bank Holiday Monday with a military procession and flyover Buckingham Palace attended by the Royal family and Sir Keir Starmer.

VE Day in pictures: Royals, Red Arrows flypast and crowds of thousandsGetty Images

Senior royals waved to thousands of people from the Buckingham Palace balcony as a Red Arrows flypast continued the commemorations marking the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe.

The King and Queen, joined by the Prince and Princess of Wales and their children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, watched on with tilted heads as the VE Day flypast soared over.

Veterans smiled and looked up as the flypast went over the palace, and army veteran Joe Mines, 100, could be seen waving while others applauded.

(From L to R) Britain's Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, Britain's Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh, Vice Admiral Timothy Laurence, Britain's Princess Anne, Princess Royal, Britain's Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, Britain's King Charles III, Britain's Queen Camilla, Britain's Prince William, Prince of Wales, Britain's Prince George of Wales, Britain's Prince Louis of Wales, Britain's Catherine, Princess of Wales and Britain's Princess Charlotte of Wales watch the Red Arrows flypast from Buckingham Palace balcony.Getty Images
Britain's Prince William, Prince of Wales, Britain's Prince George of Wales, Britain's Prince Louis of Wales, Britain's Catherine, Princess of Wales and Britain's Princess Charlotte of Wales watch the Red Arrows flypast from Buckingham Palace balcony.Getty Images

The display narrowly avoided heavy rainfall as the weather changed just as crowds began to disperse.

The spectacle followed a military procession, in which Nato allies marched alongside 1,300 members of the UK armed forces.

Sir Winston Churchill’s 1945 victory speech, spoken by actor Timothy Spall, kicked off events on Bank Holiday Monday.

Actor Timothy Spall performs his reading of Sir Winston Churchill's 1945 victory speech in front of a statue of the war time leader.Getty Images

There was applause from the crowds as the royals took their seats in the royal box to watch the parade, while William shook the hand of one veteran as he took his seat.

His children followed his example, with Kate the last to greet the serviceman as she sat beside him.

He later appeared to show her some photographs and she took one to give it a closer look.

King Charles salutes members of the Household Cavalry.Getty Images

The King saluted as the procession reached the Queen Victoria Memorial.

Shortly after the royals took their seats, light drizzle prompted many to put up umbrellas, as the King helped to wrap veteran Joy Trew up in blankets.

The royal family are scheduled to take part in engagements over the next four days, less than a week after the Duke of Sussex told the BBC his father will not speak to him and he does not know how much longer the King has left.

Members of the public walk down the mall in central London.Getty Images

The King and Queen are “looking forward” to the week’s events, and it is understood that, out of respect for the surviving veterans, Buckingham Palace hopes “nothing will detract or distract from celebrating with full cheer and proud hearts that precious victory and those brave souls, on this most special and poignant of anniversaries”.

In Whitehall, the Cenotaph was draped in a large Union flag, with the south and north face of the landmark covered.

It is the first time the war memorial has been draped in Union flags since it was unveiled by King George V more than a century ago, in 1920.

Crowds started to gather on The Mall on Monday morning, with some arriving the day before to secure a viewing spot.

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