The King will mark the 80th anniversary of VJ Day tomorrow in a message to the nation
Holly Clarke, Josh Pennington Content editor and Laura Elston
20:37, 14 Aug 2025
The King at his desk in the Morning Room at Clarence House recording his message to mark the 80th anniversary of VJ Day(Image: Aaron Chown/PA)
The King will commemorate the 80th anniversary of VJ Day tomorrow through a message to the nation.
King Charles’ pre-recorded audio message will be broadcast at 7.30am, ahead of a remembrance service at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire.
VJ Day on August 15 marks the 80th anniversary of Japan’s surrender to the Allies following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.
The King will pledge that the service and sacrifice of Second World War heroes who fought and died in the Pacific and Far East will never be forgotten on the 80th anniversary of VJ Day.
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In an audio message to the nation, realms and Commonwealth, Charles will contemplate the horrors endured by prisoners of war and innocent civilians of occupied territories in the region “whose suffering reminds us that war’s true cost extends beyond battlefields, touching every aspect of life”, reports the Liverpool Echo.
The six-minute address, recorded earlier this month in the Morning Room at Clarence House, mirrors and references the historic audio broadcast delivered by Charles’s grandfather King George VI.
The monarch will outline how the heroes of VJ Day “gave us more than freedom; they left us the example of how it can and must be protected”, with victory achieved through close collaboration between nations “across vast distances, faiths and cultural divides”.
The then-Prince of Wales at the national service of remembrance marking the 75th anniversary of VJ Day in 2020 (Image: Oli Scarff/PA)
Charles will say this proved how “in times of war and in times of peace, the greatest weapons of all are not the arms you bear but the arms you link”. The King will deliver a message, stating that the service and sacrifice of veterans and those who lost their lives in conflict “shall never be forgotten”.
This message will be released at 7.30am on Friday, prior to a remembrance service.
The King and Queen, Second World War veterans, and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer will attend the service at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire.
A photograph shows Charles looking serious with his hands clasped as he sits at his desk at Clarence House, his London residence, preparing to read his address.
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The BBC will broadcast live the Friday’s service, which will honour all those who served in the Asia-Pacific theatre, including Burma Star recipients, British Indian Army veterans, former prisoners of war, and those who fought in key battles such as Kohima and Imphal in India.
The Royal British Legion, in partnership with the Government, is hosting the event, where the King and his wife, along with other senior figures, will lay floral tributes.
The service will conclude with a national two-minute silence, followed by an aerial display by the Red Arrows, and a flypast by the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.
Afterwards, the King and Queen will attend a reception with Second World War veterans.