Prince William arrived at a Canadian commemorative ceremony at the Juno Beach Centre in Courseulles-sur-Mer earlier this morning.

The Prince of Wales was greeted by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and French prime minister Gabriel Attal, who shook the royal’s hand before they walked towards their seats.

Wearing five medals, William stood to deliver a speech and said he was “honoured” to be there today to commemorate “the bravery and sacrifice of the Canadian troops”.

He hailed the soldiers’ incredible courage of the soldiers ahead of the D-Day operation.

“Standing here today in peaceful silence, it is almost impossible to grasp the courage it would have taken to run into the fury of battle that day,” he said. “The assault on D-Day remains the most ambitious military operation in history. The events of that windy, grey day, ultimately led to the liberation of Europe, but it came at heavy cost.”

The heir then paid tribute to the veterans, adding: “All of you demonstrated heroism, and determination, that ensured fascism was conquered.”

Concluding his short address, William said: “Canada and the UK continue to stand, side by side as we did in 1944. Just as strong together, 80 years later.

“Ensuring the memory of those who fought for freedom lives on is why we’ve come together again today – to say thank you.

“Thank you for our freedom, and thank you for your service.”

He then delivered the last sentence again, but this time in French: “Merci pour notre liberté, et merci pour votre service.”

William, who is Colonel-in-Chief of the Army Air Corps – the combat aviation arm of the British Army – was wearing his Army Air Corps tie, a red poppy, his three Jubilee medals, his Coronation medal and his Great Master of The Most Honourable Order of the Bath neck order.

The first stage of the ceremony saw William receive a royal salute from a guard of honour formed by troops from the Canadian armed forces.

As a prince of Canada, the heir inspected the servicemen and invited Mr Trudeau and the French prime minister to join him.

He will soon join Canadian D-Day and Second World War Veterans, as well as Canadian Armed Forces personnel, cadets, and wider youth representatives.

Later today he will join more than 25 heads of state and veterans for the official international ceremony on Omaha Beach, Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer.

Meanwhile, the King and Queen are at a service at the British Normandy Memorial.