King Charles III is paying tribute to the Allied war heroes in his first overseas trip since undergoing cancer treatment.
The U.K. monarch and his wife, Queen Camilla, joined French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte Macron, on Thursday, June 6, to mark the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings during World War II in Normandy, France.
King Charles, dressed in military uniform, laid a wreath at the British Normandy Memorial in Ver-Sur-Mer and spoke of the sacrifice and bravery of Allied soldiers who invaded France on June 6, 1944, to liberate France and Western Europe from Nazi Germany.
“How fortunate we were, and the entire free world, that a generation of men and women in the United Kingdom and other Allied nations did not flinch when the moment came to face that test,” he said to a crowd of veterans.
“On the beaches of Normandy, on the seas beyond, and in the skies overhead, our armed forces carried out their duty with a humbling sense of resolve and determination,” he added.
Charles, 75, paid tribute to the “remarkable wartime generation,” many of whom “never came home.”
“Our gratitude is unfailing, and our admiration eternal,” he said.
Charles’ son, Prince William, is also in Normandy and joined Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at a similar commemorative ceremony honoring Canadian soldiers who took part in the D-Day campaign at Juno Beach.
“We continue to honor every Canadian, who gave so much, every Canadian family who lost a loved one,” William said, according to the BBC.
William ended his speech in French, telling spectators, “Thank you for our freedom, and thank you for your service.”
Charles has slowly been returning to public duty after undergoing treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer. He marked his return to duty on April 30 by visiting a specialist cancer treatment in London with Camilla.
“I would like to express my most heartfelt thanks for the many messages of support and good wishes I have received in recent days,” Charles said in February after his diagnosis was announced. “As all those who have been affected by cancer will know, such kind thoughts are the greatest comfort and encouragement.”
Charles continued, “It is equally heartening to hear how sharing my own diagnosis has helped promote public understanding and shine a light on the work of all those organizations [that] support cancer patients and their families across the U.K. and wider world. My lifelong admiration for their tireless care and dedication is all the greater as a result of my own personal experience.”
