Daniela Relph
Royal correspondent, at the Bayeux War Cemetery

Walking into a military cemetery for the first time can be a moving experience. Bayeux War Cemetery is one of those places.

There will be a service of commemoration here this afternoon, guests include D-Day veterans and the Princess Royal, Princess Anne.

The perfection and precision of the graves are in stark contrast to the way so many here lost their lives in the chaos and brutality of war.

One grave marks the death of five men - an entire Royal Air Force Crew. They were killed in the days after D-Day, on 10 June 1944.

An inscription reads:

“Greater Love

Hath no man than this

That a man lay down

His life for his friends.”

Katya Adler
Europe editor, reporting from Sainte-Marie-du-Mont

"People here are nice," 99-year-old US veteran Donald Cobb tells me. "We enjoy coming back."

He’s been taking part in a veterans’ march in picturesque Sainte-Marie-du-Mont, in Normandy. The streets here festooned with banners claiming to be "the first liberated village".

Donald remembers landing on nearby Omaha beach at 05:30 on 6 June 1944. The water was choppy, the wind biting, he says. "I remember it well. You don’t forget things like that."

19 years old, he must have been petrified. "Honestly," he says: "I would rather have been anywhere else.”

Yet his modesty when I speak to him is humbling.

"We did what we had to do," he tells me. "I don’t feel like a hero. I’m glad we were able to help. I feel good about that."

Image source, Marianne Baisnee/BBC

Charlotte Gallagher
Reporting from Portsmouth

Image source, Getty Images

The Red Arrows have closed the show here in Portsmouth to huge cheers from the crowd.

Their red, white and blue smoke trails soared over the Portsmouth sky.

The event has been emotional, uplifting and a reminder of the sacrifice of the wartime generation, not just in the UK but other Allied nations.

The biggest cheers today were reserved for the veterans who took to the stage to share their memories of D-Day.

Image source, Reuters

D-Day veteran Eric Bateman is given a standing ovation as he walks on to the stage in Portsmouth with his two granddaughters - Annabel and Imogen.

Bateman says he served on HMS Erebus, and on D-Day there were "ships as far as we could see".

"I am lucky to be here 80 years later", he says, "so many men and women including my dear friend Fred...unfortunately never made it".

"I'm proud to be here today to honour them and make sure they will always be remembered," he says.

After he is given another round of applause, Bateman's granddaughters pay tribute to the soldiers who took part.

"Without them, we would not have the freedom we enjoy today. We will always remember them," they say.

Chris Andrews
Reporting from Normandy

Margaret Brotheridge’s father was one of the first Allied soldiers to be killed on D-Day.

Lt Den Brotheridge served with the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry and was part of Operation Tonga to seize what is now known as Pegasus Bridge in Normandy.

He was gunned down as he led his men over the bridge just after midnight on 6 June 1944. Margaret, who was born 19 days later, says she did not find out about her father’s story until she was 40.

She returns to Bénouville each year to support Arlette Gondrée’s cafe at the bridge.

The Gondrée family made a plaque for Lt Brotheridge’s grave from their kitchen table.

“(I think) he was one of thousands who were doing a job - and thankfully, they did,” Margaret says.

“I’m very proud that they all did it, not just my father.”

Listen to more about their story on BBC Sounds here.

Charlotte Gallagher
Reporting from Portsmouth

Eighty years ago, this part of Portsmouth would have been full of the thousands of Allied troops who would take part in D-Day landings.

Many were still teenagers, some had never even been on a boat or beach before. They did not know what they would face in Normandy, or how the battle would change the course of history.

They had been camping in nearby woods preparing and planning.

It was the largest amphibious invasion ever and marked the beginning of the end for the Nazi’s grip on Europe.

Image source, Reuters

Rishi Sunak is now on stage in Portsmouth, reading out in full a personal message from Gen Bernard Montgomery, commander of the Allied forces on D-Day, which was read to all troops on the eve of the landings.

"The time has come to deal the enemy a terrific blow in western Europe," it starts.

"I want every soldier to know that I have complete confidence in the successful outcome of the operations that we are now about to begin.

"With stout hearts, and with enthusiasm for the contest, let us go forward to victory."

"Good luck to each one of you", Montgomery's message ends, "and good hunting on the main land of Europe".

Image source, PA

As we've been reporting, there are several events taking place in France and the UK today to mark D-Day landings.

In Portsmouth, one of the places from where Allied troops sailed to liberate German-occupied France in 1944, a ceremony has been taking place attended by King Charles, Queen Camilla, Prince William, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and other UK politicians.

Image source, Reuters

In France, President Emmanuel Macron has finished addressing troops in Plumelec, Brittany, in the north-west of the country.

Other ceremonies are also taking place in Normandy, where the Allied troops landed on the beaches 80 years ago, including in Sainte-Marie-du-Mont, a town in Normandy which lays claim to being the first to be liberated by American troops.

And at Pegasus Bridge, the site of a crucial battle during the D-Day landings, families of French and US troops have been attending a memorial service.

Sean Coughlan
Royal correspondent

Image source, PA

Prince William paid tribute to those who had taken part in D-Day’s “fight against tyranny”.

Speaking on Southsea Common, the Prince of Wales delivered a poignant reading from the diary of Captain Alastair Bannerman.

Written as Capt Bannerman sailed towards the French coast on the morning of the first landings, he had thought about his wife and children sleeping at home.

He described the rows of small ships heading across the Channel.

“We can now see the French coast and very soon we will have to play our part,” he signed off. He was later taken prisoner but survived the war.

Prince William remembered those who did not come back, including a line from Rupert Brooke’s poem The Solider: “There is some corner of a foreign field…”

Charlotte Gallagher
Reporting from Portsmouth

Hundreds of local schoolchildren are among the audience members here in Portsmouth.

They arrived excitedly waving their union flags at the television cameras but they are now sat quietly, taking in the stories of veterans - some were not much older than them when they set sail for Normandy 80 years ago.

Many of the surviving veterans have spoken about the need for their stories and sacrifice to be known by younger generations.

Image source, EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

Ed Sault
Reporting from Portsmouth

Image source, PA Media

Their majesties King Charles and Queen Camilla have just been on stage to a loud applause from the crowds here in Portsmouth.

The audience were on their feet giving an ovation after the speech.

The King spoke about the importance of D-Day and how it shouldn’t be forgotten - a message that resonated strongly with the people of this naval city.

Image source, Reuters

During his moving speech, King Charles reminds crowds that the Allied victory was a collective effort from those working in mines and in secret services back home.

He says their collective industry, ingenuity and commitment on the ground "helped our soldiers, sailors and airmen to prevail".

"As we give thanks for all those who gave so much to win the victory, whose fruits we still enjoy to this day, let us once again commit ourselves always to remember, cherish and honour those who served that day and to live up to the freedom they died for, by balancing rights with civic responsibilities to our country for we are all eternally in their debt."

The end of his speech is met with a round of applause from those who attending the commemorative event in Portsmouth.

"Let us never forget that the soldiers who fought in the campaign launched from this place came from 30 nations, from across the UK, the Commonwealth and Allied countries," says the King.

King Charles says the involvement of Sikh, Muslim and Hindu soldiers is "a reminder that events that year shaped our world then and the society we share today".

King Charles says that today's event is to "honour" the nearly 160,000 troops who embarked in Portsmouth to "embark on that mission that [would] strike a blow for freedom".

"Those who gathered here in Portsmouth would never forget the site," he says, "all knew both victory and failure were possible, and none could know their fate."

"Eight decades later, it's a near impossible task to imagine the emotion of that day", Charles says.

"The pride of being part of such great an enterprise, the anxiety of, in some way, not coming up to scratch, and the fear of that day being the last."

We're now hearing from King Charles, who is speaking to mark celebrations for the 80th anniversary of D-Day landings.

"The stories of courage, resilience and solidarity we have heard today and throughout our lives cannot fail to move us, to inspire us and to remind us of what we owe to that great wartime generation," he says.

Stay with us as we bring you the latest lines, you can also follow the event live by pressing the Play button at the top of the page.

Anjana Gadgil
Reporting from Pegasus Bridge, Normandy

Meanwhile at Pegasus Bridge in Normandy, the families of Major John Howard and Lt Den Brotheridge have laid wreaths and flowers at the memorial site for the fallen Allied soldiers.

Lt Brotheridge is widely regarded as the first person killed on D-Day, after he landed in France shortly after midnight on 6 June 1944 while Maj Howard led the airborne operation to capture Pegasus Bridge.

A number of major political and royal figures are present at the event in Portsmouth today.

Image source, PA Media

Image source, PA Media

Image source, Reuters

Charlotte Gallagher
Reporting from Southsea Common

There was a standing ovation for D-Day veteran Roy Hayward when he walked on stage on Southsea Common.

He was severely injured in Normandy, both his legs had to be amputated below the knees.

But he told the audience he was one of the “lucky ones who survived, because so many of us didn’t”.

He said he represented all the “men and women who put their lives on hold to go and fight for democracy and this country”.

He added that he was here to ensure “their story is never forgotten”.

Image source, PA

The commemorative event is underway in Portsmouth and led by Dame Helen Mirren who has praised the bravery of the veterans in attendance.

She said: "The presence today of some of those who contributed to that remarkable venture is an extraordinary privilege.

"Your bravery remains as inspiring now as it was eight decades ago. Thank you."

Image source, PA

Anjana Gadgil
Reporting from Pegasus Bridge, Normandy

There are around 500 people here at the Pegasus Memorial service in Normandy.

The service is held every year to mark the bravery and sacrifice of those who served in the 6th airborne division. There are senior military officers, French dignitaries and 60 World War Two veterans from the US.

There are also around 200 family members and friends of the British service personnel who took part in the audacious capture of Pegasus Bridge.

Among them the family of the man who led the airborne operation, Major John Howard.

Later tonight a vigil is being held on the bridge itself to make the exact moment 80 years ago that gliders swooped in to start the liberation of France.

It's a tradition that was started by Major John Howard himself, his granddaughter Kerry Ricketts explains to me.

"It used to be just be granddad and a few other men who were there in 1944 walking slowly over the bridge with a bottle of champagne.

"Now it's grown into an event which kick-starts the D-Day commemorations," she says.