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Are you joining a street party this afternoon? Maybe you’ve got a spot to watch the flypast and wave at the Royal Family on The Mall? We want to hear from you however you’re marking the day.
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Prince and Princess of Wales and their children arrive
Prince William and Kate, Princess of Wales, are attending events today.
They were pictured arriving at Buckingham Palace earlier with their three children, Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, seven.
Ahead of them were Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh, and her husband, Prince Edward, the Duke of Edinburgh.
The royals later took their seats just down from the King and Queen.
In pictures: Military procession begins with cavalry
We’re under way in London, with some of the 1,300 servicemen and women making their way along the parade route past the Cenotaph and towards Buckingham Palace…
Watch: King and Queen in royal box for military parade
The Royal Family are watching the parade from outside Buckingham Palace.
Later on, they will host veterans for tea at the palace after the flypast – when we will see the King, the Queen and other senior royals on the balcony.
Watch the scene in the royal box below – and of course you can watch the parade itself in the stream at the top of the page:
Procession begins
With the reading of Winston Churchill’s speech concluded, the procession is under way.
D-Day veteran Alan Kennett formally gave the commander of the parade permission to start, as air cadet officers stood beside him.
A reminder of the route the procession will take here…
You can watch along live in the stream at the top of this page, or follow live text, picture and video updates in this page.
Big Ben strikes before Churchill’s famous victory speech read aloud
As Big Ben tolls to mark midday, we’re about to hear Winston Churchill’s famous VE Day speech delivered by actor Timothy Spall.
Here’s Churchill’s speech in full, as he gave it on 8 May 1945:
My dear friends, this is your hour.
This is not victory of a party or of any class.
It’s a victory of the great British nation as a whole.
We were the first, in this ancient island, to draw the sword against tyranny.
After a while we were left all alone against the most tremendous military power that has been seen.
We were all alone for a whole year.
There we stood, alone. Did anyone want to give in?
Were we down-hearted?
The lights went out and the bombs came down.
But every man, woman and child in the country had no thought of quitting the struggle.
London can take it.
So we came back after long months from the jaws of death, out of the mouth of hell, while all the world wondered.
When shall the reputation and faith of this generation of English men and women fail?
I say that in the long years to come not only will the people of this island but of the world, wherever the bird of freedom chirps in human hearts, look back to what we’ve done and they will say “do not despair, do not yield to violence and tyranny, march straightforward and die if need be-unconquered”.
Now we have emerged from one deadly struggle-a terrible foe has been cast on the ground and awaits our judgment and our mercy.
But there is another foe who occupies large portions of the British Empire, a foe stained with cruelty and greed-the Japanese.
I rejoice we can all take a night off today and another day tomorrow.
Tomorrow our great Russian allies will also be celebrating victory and after that we must begin the task of rebuilding our hearth and homes, doing our utmost to make this country a land in which all have a chance, in which all have a duty, and we must turn ourselves to fulfil our duty to our own countrymen, and to our gallant allies of the United States who were so foully and treacherously attacked by Japan.
We will go hand and hand with them.
Even if it is a hard struggle we will not be the ones who will fail.
Military units get into position in central London
Members of the military have been getting into position ahead of today’s procession – which begins at around 12.10pm.
In the first two images, you can see members of the Ukrainian armed forces, who have joined today’s proceedings in London…
King on way to Buckingham Palace
The King is on his way to Buckingham Palace from Clarence House.
He’ll watch today’s proceedings from the palace and will show himself to crowds for an RAF flyover later.
Princess Anne arrives ahead of parade
The Royal family will be watching today’s procession from outside Buckingham Palace.
You’ll be able to watch the scene in the royal box live after midday when the parade begins.
In the meantime, here’s the Princess Royal arriving, waving to some of the gathered crowds lining The Mall.
Key timings today: From procession to flypast and royal balcony moment
Here are the key timings you need to know as events begin today:
- 11.50pm: Commemorations begin at Parliament Square
- 12pm: Winston Churchill’s famous VE Day speech is read aloud by actor Timothy Spall after Big Ben strikes at midday
- 12.10pm: A military procession of some 1,300 people makes its way from Parliament Square to Buckingham Palace. The King and Queen are joined by the Prince and Princess of Wales in watching the procession on the palace balcony
- 1.45pm: A flypast follows, reaching the palace at 1.45pm and featuring 23 current and historic military aircraft, including the Voyager transport aircraft, a P8 Poseidon surveillance aircraft, Typhoon and F-35 fighter jets. You don’t have to be in London to catch a glimpse of the flypast though – check out where you can see it in the story below
- This afternoon: The King and Queen host a tea party at Buckingham Palace for some 50 veterans, their families and other members of the wartime generation. Street parties take place across the UK.
Check the weather for VE Day parade – and events where you are
The weather for today’s parade should be mostly cloudy, with a small chance of rain.
In London, the temperature is forecast to range from 7-15C and is expected to be around 12C when the procession begins at midday.
There’s a small chance of rain around 2pm, but on the whole, the weather shouldn’t interfere with today’s events.
Check the forecast for any VE Day events where you are here.
