VE Day latest: Buckingham Palace welcomes veterans after royal flypast as UK celebrates with tea parties

One of only two airworthy Lancasters left in the world, it was built at the Vickers Armstrong Broughton factory at Hawarden Airfield, Chester, on May 31 1945.

The war against Japan ended before it was deployed and it did not take part in any hostilities, but it remains a symbol of those who died in service of the country.

The Voyager, based at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, is a modified civilian passenger aircraft. Capable of carrying up to 291 passengers and cargo all over the world, this Voyager was flown by Flight Lieutenant Jason Alty, Flight Lieutenant Will Ricketts, Flight Lieutenant Andy Theobald and Sergeant Handibode.

The Airbus A400M Atlas military transport aircraft, a contemporary plane, can carry up to 37 tonnes and 116 passengers. It was used heavily when the UK evacuated civilians from Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover in 2021.

The C-17 Globemaster is a long-range aircraft which can carry heavy loads and is used in combat as well as humanitarian missions. It has been used to support operations in the UK and overseas including providing support to Ukraine and delivering aid to the Middle East during the crisis in Gaza.

Based at RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland, the Poseidon is a maritime patrol aircraft. It has sensors and weapons for anti-submarine warfare, and can also be used in search and rescue efforts. It can detect, identify and monitor targets above and below the waves.

There were six Typhoons involved in the flypast, flanking other aircraft as they flew over London. Typhoons are based permanently at RAF Coninsby in Lincolnshire and Lossiemouth, where they are ready to respond to potential threats in UK and Nato air space, the Ministry of Defence said.

An electronic surveillance aircraft, Rivet Joint has sensors which can detect emissions from communications, radar and other systems. It has been used as part of Operation Shader, the UK’s contribution in ongoing military intervention in Iraq.

Flying on each wing of the Rivet Joint were F-35B Lightning jets from RAF Marham in Norfolk. The F-35B Lightning is a short take-off and vertical landing aircraft that can operate from aircraft carriers including the Royal Navy’s Queen Elizabeth-class ships.

The Red Arrows, formally known as the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team, provided the colourful finale to the flypast. Since the Red Arrows’ first season in 1965, they have performed almost 5,000 displays in 57 countries. The Red Arrows are led by Red 1, Squadron Leader Jon Bond.

The former frontline Typhoon pilot, from Essex, joined the RAF in 2006. The 2025 season is his second year as team leader, responsible for choreographing the new display routine, which is seen by millions of people at big events and air shows.

War survivors, refugees and local families have joined together for a VE Day street party in one of Britain’s most bombed neighbourhoods.

The event in the historic Docklands area of east London – one of the locations most heavily hit during the Blitz – was organised by the Bengali Association, local refugee support and other community groups.

The celebration featured 1940s music and dancing, Morse code demonstrations and food ranging from BBQ favourites to VE Day biryani.

Inside nearby St Peter’s Church, visitors explored an exhibition of family connections to the war, including a poster created by local refugee Abdul Shakoor about the British Indian Army.

Eighty years after King George VI marked Victory in Europe Day without adorning his uniform with medals, his grandson, King Charles III, followed suit.

At Monday’s VE Day parade in central London, the King opted for a similar display of understated commemoration.

Donning his naval No.1 dress uniform, he observed the military procession and flypast, commencing four days of national celebration.

May 8, 1945 marked the official end of the war in Europe and the Allied forces’ over the Nazis. King George stepped onto the balcony of Buckingham Palace, alongside his wife Queen Elizabeth and daughters Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II) and Margaret to wave to the crowds.

Veteran Norman Trickett, 101, said he performed a magic trick with the Queen while talking to her.

The trick involved tying string on Camilla’s finger before whipping it off.

She laughed as the trick was performed.

Mr Trickett said: “I was dared to show the magic trick to the Queen, so I did it.

“She loved it, so I’m glad, I’m chuffed to be here, very proud.”

Among those who saw the flypast from Buckingham Palace was Ruth Barnwell, 100, who joined the Women’s Royal Naval Service aged 17 when her brother’s friend was killed on HMS Hood, which was sunk during the Battle of the Denmark Strait on May 24 1941 by the German battleship Bismarck.

Regarding the commemoration, she told PA: “It was great. Really great. Today has been wonderful.”

A veteran who was cold during the VE Day military procession said the King “tucked” her in.

Joy Trew, who signed up to join the war effort aged 17 and served in the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force, said Charles had leaned down and tucked her blanket into her wheelchair during the parade to prevent her from getting chilly.

“He bent down and tucked me in,” she said.

Of the procession, Ms Trew, who grew up in Bristol but now lives in Wells in Somerset, said: “I said to him (the King) a lot of the women look formidable and he said ‘yes’”.

The 98-year-old said she discussed parenting with Charles and told him she had tried to be a strict mother to her children.

The Prince of Wales spoke of the importance of preserving veterans’ stories as he was joined by his son and former service personnel at a tea party in Buckingham Palace.

William smiled as he shook hands with veterans and said it was “very important” for Prince George and the “next generation” to hear the stories from those who fought in the war.

George listened intently as his father chatted to Alfred Littlefield, 101, who served during D-Day.

William later told veteran Douglas Hyde, who joined the merchant navy aged 18 in 1944, that his son was “very keen” to ask the former serviceman some questions.

The pair joined the party as veterans and senior politicians enjoyed a selection of finger sandwiches, soup and homemade scotch eggs in the Marble Hall.