In Pictures: Remembering D-Day

Veterans of World War II, world leaders and royalty have been gathering ahead of the 70th anniversary of D-Day, the biggest amphibious assault in military history.

Many UK veterans will sail on HMS Bulwark from Portsmouth to Normandy on Thursday, while a parade made up of former troops, cadets and serving members of the armed forces is taking place in Portsmouth.

The Prince of Wales is attending a memorial service to mark the taking of the strategic Pegasus Bridge in France, and the Queen will make a state visit to France, starting in Paris.

Hundreds of veterans - including Frank James, 95 - have gathered to mark 70 years since the D-Day landings in northern France

Ceremonies have been held on both sides of the Channel, including one at Portsmouth

The Princess Royal was at the drumhead ceremony in Portsmouth, where exactly 70 years ago troops were preparing to invade Nazi-occupied France

After the ceremony in Portsmouth, the Royal Marines and Royal Navy demonstrated an amphibious assault in Southsea

Troops stormed up the beach in the demonstration, firing blank rounds as a large crowd watched

The crew of HMS Bulwark, due to leave Portsmouth for Normandy, saluted to those on shore during the events in Portsmouth

Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall visited Pegasus Bridge, which was captured by British troops within minutes of landing in gliders just after midnight on 6 June 1944

Pipers marched past Cafe Gondree, the Pegasus Bridge Cafe, the first French house to be liberated

A Spitfire and a Lancaster, both famous aircraft from WWII, flew over Pegasus Bridge near Caen, France

Veterans were joined by people of all ages - including Raffi Mills, 10, from Lymington - at the Pegasus Bridge Memorial Museum in Normandy

A Hercules C-130 plane flew over Sword Beach in Ouistreham, northern France, where world leaders will gather on Friday

French paratroopers carrying various flags landed on Sword Beach, one of the numerous locations where D-Day anniversary events are being held

German soldiers attended a US-German D-Day commemoration ceremony in Picauville

US veterans - including Isaac Curtis Phillips - also attended the US-German D-Day commemoration ceremony

General George Patton's granddaughter, Helen Patton, parachuted into Picauville

As marines demonstrated an amphibian invasion in southern England, military enthusiasts dressed as WWII soldiers marched outside a camp near Omaha Beach in France

While 70 years earlier the first Allied troops had not yet arrived, enthusiasts with vintage military clothing and equipment have been spotted around Arromanches-les-Bains

After the amphibious landing display by marines earlier, the Red Arrows put on a lengthy aerobatic show over the crowds in Portsmouth

Some of the 650 British veterans expected at Sword Beach for a ceremony on Friday attended by a number of world leaders visited the beach on Thursday

Veterans including George French, 89, of the King's Royal Rifles, have been returning to the beaches where an estimated 2,500 Allied troops died on D-Day

The Queen arrived in Paris by Eurostar for a state visit to France and Friday's D-Day ceremony at Sword Beach