The Princess Royal read a speech in St Peter Port on behalf of King Charles III.

The King sent his "warmest greetings" to the people of the islands.

He also spoke of his "fond memories" of the "wonderfully generous welcome" islanders gave when he visited Guernsey and Sark with Queen Camilla last year.

Military veterans fired a 21-gun salute from Castle Cornet in St Peter Port at 13:00 BST.

The castle was first built in the 1200s to defend Guernsey from the French after the island swore allegiance to the English Crown when King John ceded the rest of Normandy.

During World War Two modern fortifications and gun points were added.

Older islanders including those who lived through the war were gifted packages with contents including Guernsey cream, gâche- a local fruit cake - and jam.

Chris Craddock
BBC Jersey

At the Portelet Inn, around the coast from St Helier, Karen Hollyhawk and Theresa Banks are marking Liberation Day with a drink in the sunshine.

Ms Hollyhawk said: "Obviously you can tell from the accent I'm not from Jersey. I think the fact they still put so much effort into it is brilliant to be honest."

Ms Banks said: "If it wasn't for all these people that did all these things for us, a sea swim this morning, sitting here now, it may have been a completely different story."

Olivia Fraser
BBC News, Guernsey

The Steadfast Association performed on Albert Pier and you can feel the mood shifting from a very reflective one this morning to that of celebration.

There are lots of people in St Peter Port with smiles on faces and cameras out to remember this momentous day.

The monarch's representative in Jersey - Lieutenant-Governor Vice Admiral Jerry Kyd - shared a message from King Charles.

"I send you all my very warmest greetings. The Queen and I have particularly fond memories of Liberation Square where you all gather today.

"Despite the most astonishing downpour during our all too brief visit to Jersey last year.

"It is also the place I most visited in 1995 to unveil the Liberation Sculpture on behalf of my late mother on the 50th anniversary of freeing the island from German Occupation.

Image source, PA Media

"That monument remains not only a poignant reminder of the trials and hardships that the people of Jersey endured during the Second World War, but also the jubilation they felt when finally this came to an end on the 9 May 1945.

"As you come together today to commemorate this very special event and to celebrate the freedoms we enjoy today we also remember those who remained, those who were deported or evacuated from the islands and those Jersey people who left to serve in our armed forces.

"Each and every one of them played a part in making Jersey the unique and memorable place it is today.

"Our thoughts are with you on this most significant day and I pray the blessing of all mighty God. We'll be with the people of Jersey now and in the years to come."

Harry Whitehead
BBC News, Guernsey

Ian Le Noury, 53, is from Guernsey but now lives in Australia and says "[I] always put my bunting out and flag out" on Liberation Day.

He is visiting Anne Le Noury, 81, who said Liberation Day was about freedom.

Caitlin Wheeler, 22, is also in Guernsey for Liberation Day and said: "It’s important to celebrate with Ian and his family, it's impressive and interesting to learn."

Image source, Jersey Heritage

The date 7 March 1945 was another dreary day in the German Occupation of Jersey.

Islanders and Germans alike went about their business, all suffering from the deprivations inevitable after five years of war.

Then suddenly, from the direction of Mont Millais, a series of loud explosions shattered the peace, and so began a mystery that was to endure for decades.

The Palace Hotel was a large, grand building at the top of the hill near the current Jersey College for Girls.

Read the full story here.

People from Guernsey have been speaking to BBC World At One's Sarah Montague about the day the Channel Islands were liberated, as well as the aftermath of the German Occupation.

The celebrations are happening all over Guernsey - as well as in the skies above it.

A Boeing P-8A Poseidon from RAF Brize Norton, near Oxford, flew along the east coast of Guernsey this morning.

At 14:15 BST two iconic World War Two fighters, a Hawker Hurricane and a North American Harvard (also known as a T-6 Texan), will complete two laps of the island.

Later there will be flypasts from a Spitfire MK 9 and a Douglas C-47 Dakota, as well as a parachute drop at L'Eree from the RAF Falcons.

Betty Swift, from Lancashire, said her parents took in two evacuated Guernsey families during the Occupation.

Mrs Swift, 82, said: "I still keep in touch with some of the families, and my daughter lives here now.

"They were sent up to St Helens and my family looked after them."

It was "very hard for them to leave their families behind", she said.

Mrs Swift said she remained pen friends with one of the children, who was born in St Helens, when she returned to her home island.

"Sadly she died last year," Mrs Swift said, "We were friends for 80 years."

Re-enactors made their way through Liberation Square 80 years on from the arrival of the liberating troops from Force 135.

The Union flag was raised above the Pomme D'Or to the cheering of the crowd as it had been on 9 May 1945.

On 8 May 1945, the war in Europe ended.

Churchill's victory speech, including the line: "Our dear Channel Islands are to be freed", was broadcast across the Royal Square in Jersey.

On 9 May, soldiers from HMS Bulldog landed in St Peter Port while HMS Beagle sailed to St Helier.

In Guernsey the Union Flag was first raised over the States offices, then the Royal Hotel, before it was also raised at the Royal Court where the crowd of between 1,500 and 2,000 broke into a spontaneous rendition of God Save the King.

In Jersey the Union Flag was raised from the Harbour Master's Office and from the balcony of the Pomme d'Or Hotel, Jersey, in front of what is now Liberation Square.

Celebrations were long and loud.

The last island to be freed was Alderney, where the garrison did not surrender until 16 May. Thousands of mines and defences had to be cleared before the majority of inhabitants could return on 15 December, a day still marked in the island as Homecoming Day.

After five long years of oppression, hunger, darkness and despair, the Channel Islands and their people were finally free.

The military began bringing order to the islands as German leaders were taken away. Some soldiers were kept on to help clear the thousands of mines and miles of barbed wire.

Martin Adems, who is amongst the crowds in Liberation Square in St Helier, is celebrating his 80th birthday today.

He was born in Jersey on Liberation Day in 1945, and has travelled to the island from Scotland for the occasion.

Mr Adems said Liberation Day "means a lot" to him.

During the Occupation of the Channel Islands huge construction works were carried out on all the islands built by forced labourers and slave workers.

When the first slaves arrived at the end of 1941 islanders were shocked as many of the prisoners were starving and dressed in rags.

The slaves were put to work building fortifications, while many islanders resolved to help them, either by feeding or offering shelter to those who escaped.

Hitler ruled any men not born in the islands should be deported to Germany with their families.

In September 1942, people were given a few hours notice to be at the harbour.

As the first boat full of deportees sailed from St Helier, a mass of islanders watched singing We'll Meet Again.

Nearly 2,500 Channel Islanders were sent away and held in prisons or internment camps.

The Bailiff of Jersey Sir Timothy Le Cocq was among those to give speeches in Liberation Square this morning.

It was Mr Le Cocq's final Liberation Day speech, as he is expected to retire in October, to be succeeded by Robert MacRae.

At the end of his speech, Mr Le Cocq said: "So, as we mark this 80th anniversary, let us all stand together as members of our island community, who are all, whether born here of not, inheritors of a legacy, a legacy of endurance, of hope, and of liberation.

"Thank you all for being a part of this day.

"Thank you for remembering, and thank you for helping to carry the memory forward."

The Princess Royal has been inspecting the guard of honour in St Peter Port.

She is visiting Guernsey as part of the official Liberation Day 80 events. Her last visit was in 2018.

The princess is due to unveil a plaque on The Avenue on Sark on Saturday for the island's own Liberation Day.

Image source, PA Media

Thousands of people turned out to watch the parade through St Peter Port, which began at 11:00 BST.

Specialist nurses in Guernsey have provided advice on how to care for people with dementia who might be upset by "war themes" during Liberation Day.

The island's dementia specialist admiral nurses, Colette Bonner and Michelle Martel, said the change in routine could also cause "distress and confusion".

The nurses advised carers to be flexible and accept if people with dementia wanted to be "away from some of the main atmosphere".

Among those gathered in Liberation Square in Jersey are Louise and Tony Le Masurier.

Mrs Masurier's grandfather got into trouble during the Occupation for stealing a piece of pork.

She said she had been wearing her Union Jack outfit at work all week and said it was important to remember our ancestors and keep the tradition going.