LONDON, May 5, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - A military parade and planned balcony 
appearance by the royal family on Monday kicked off four days of UK 
celebrations marking 80 years since the end of World War II.

King Charles III, Prime Minister Keir Starmer and thousands of spectators 
watched as NATO personnel from the US, France and Germany, along with a small 
number of Ukrainian troops, joined a military procession that began with 
Winston Churchill's 1945 victory speech, voiced by actor Timothy Spall.

"Do not yield to violence and tyranny, march straight forward and die if need 
be, unconquered," bellowed Spall, stood by Churchill's statue in Parliament 
Square.

As European countries gear up to celebrate Victory in Europe (VE) Day on May 
8, the war in Ukraine is a reminder "that peace is never to be taken for 
granted", Charles told the Italian parliament last month.

"Today, sadly, the echoes of those times -- which we fervently hoped had been 
consigned to history -- reverberate across our continent," the king said.

Monday's procession of 1,000 troops was to culminate in a fly past featuring 
aerobatic team The Red Arrows and 23 current and historic military aircraft, 
which the 76-year-old monarch and other royals will watch from the balcony of 
Buckingham Palace.

It was from the same balcony on May 8, 1945, that King George VI and Queen 
Elizabeth -- alongside daughters princesses Elizabeth and Margaret, and then-
prime minister Churchill -- greeted tens of thousands of Londoners 
celebrating what Churchill declared the "day of victory in Europe".

That night, the two princesses, then 19 and 14, were allowed to leave the 
palace and join the jubilant crowds incognito.

Some 40 years later, Elizabeth, by then queen, described the night as "one of 
the most memorable" of her life.

- Poppies, pubs and parties -

This year's commemorations will take on extra poignancy given the fading of 
the "Greatest Generation".

It will be the last major commemoration for which "anyone will still be alive 
who actually served in the Second World War," monarchy specialist Robert 
Hazell of University College London told AFP.

Buckingham Palace was to host a Monday reception celebrating veterans and 
people of the WWII generation. 

Their numbers are dwindling, leaving younger generations increasingly 
disconnected from the conflict that shook the continent from 1939 to 1945.

"It's important to remember some of the poor devils who didn't make it like I 
did," 99-year-old Royal Air Force veteran Dennis Bishop told AFP.

The first act on a chilly Monday morning in London was the draping of two 
huge Union Jack flags on the Cenotaph war memorial.

Hundreds of people set up camp outside Buckingham Palace with chairs and 
rugs.

"It's so emotional to be here today. Eighty years of peace and peace of mind. 
Where would we be without them?" asked Patrick Beacon, 76, who arrived with 
his wife at around 7 am (0600 GMT) to get the "best view".

Tourists including 52-year-old Ludivine Batthelot from southern France.

"We came out of curiosity because it's the kind of celebration that the 
English do so well," she told AFP. "It's folklore, we wanted to be in the 
mood and live the experience."

- 'Debt of gratitude' -

Among other events, there was to be a party on HMS Belfast -- one of the few 
surviving British warships from WWII -- which is moored on the banks of the 
Thames.

And people were invited to take part in hundreds of other parties, 1940s 
dress-up events, picnics, installations and commemorations that take place 
across the country through the week until VE Day on Thursday.

On Tuesday, Queen Camilla will visit an art installation of around 30,000 
ceramic red poppies -- symbols of remembrance for the war dead -- at the 
iconic Tower of London.

Celebrations will draw to a close on Thursday with a two-minute national 
silence at government buildings.

Charles, who has been undergoing treatment for cancer, will attend a service 
at Westminster Abbey, followed by a concert at London's Horse Guards Parade.

The royal family was hoping "nothing will detract or distract" from the 
celebrations after Prince Harry, Charles' youngest son, gave a bombshell 
interview on Friday, according to UK media.

Pubs across the country have been allowed to stay open two hours later as 
part of the celebrations.