A pre-recorded message will be broadcast to the nation next week
16:28, 07 Aug 2025Updated 16:28, 07 Aug 2025
King Charles will address the nation next week on August 15(Image: Getty Images)
Buckingham Palace has confirmed that the King is set to address the nation next week, to mark the 80th anniversary of VJ Day.
King Charles has pre-recorded an audio message that will be broadcast on August 15, which marks the anniversary of Japan’s surrender to the Allies following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, effectively ending the Second World War.
The message will be broadcast ahead of a service of remembrance attended by the King and Queen, Second World War veterans and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire.
The service, which will be broadcast live by the BBC, is set to pay tribute to 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 pivotal battles including Kohima and Imphal in India.
King Charles’ pre-recorded message will be broadcast on August 15(Image: PA)
The event, hosted by the Royal British Legion in partnership with the Government, will see the King and his wife leave floral tributes, as will other senior figures.
A national two-minutes silence will conclude with an aerial display by the Red Arrows and the service will draw to a close with a flypast by the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, before the King and Queen attend a reception with Second World War veterans.
While Charles and Camilla are at the National Memorial Arboretum event, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh will attend a service at the Scottish National War Memorial at Edinburgh Castle, organised by the Royal British Legion Scotland.
At the same time, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester will join the congregation at the Far East Prisoners of War VJ Day 80th Anniversary Service at Norwich Cathedral, before attending a second commemorative service dedicated to the Children and Families of the Far East Prisoners of War in Suffolk.
Prior to VJ Day, Sophie is set to meet Second World War veteran Jim Wren, who was serving on HMS Repulse when he was captured and held on the Indonesian island of Sumatra until the end of the war.
Events to commemorate the 80th anniversary of VJ Day will conclude with a reception for veterans at Windsor Castle later in the autumn.