Prince William is taking on additional responsibilities as his father, King Charles III, and wife, Princess Catherine, undergo cancer treatment for their respective conditions.
Buckingham Palace has just announced that the Prince of Wales will be stepping in for his father to represent the crown at an 80th anniversary D-Day commemoration next week in Normandy, in northeastern France.
The gathering will see William serve as leader of the United Kingdom, and he will be joined by 25 other world leaders. The ceremony will take place on June 6 at Omaha Beach, and will honor the thousands of American, British, and Canadian troops who landed at the beach on D-Day.
The battles on D-Day, which began on June 6, 1944, were crucial in pushing back German forces and bringing about the end of World War II.
Apart from international leaders, D-Day veterans will attend a commemorative ceremony hosted by the Canadian government at the Juno Beach Centre, in the French town of Courseulles-sur-Mer, Buckingham Palace has announced.
While King Charles and Queen Camilla will join William on June 5 at the U.K.’s national D-Day commemorative event in Portsmouth, England, the prince will attend the Canadian commemorative ceremony and the international commemorative ceremony on June 6 alone. On that day, the king and queen consort are expected to attend the Ministry of Defence and the Royal British Legion’s commemorative event at the British Normandy Memorial to mark the anniversary, as the monarch is patron of the Royal British Legion.
Princess Kate will not be attending the anniversary ceremonies, as she has said she will return to public-facing royal duties only when she is allowed to do so by her doctors.
