Queen Camilla speaks with Bob Gelder and his eldest son, Kim, during a reception for VJ veterans and their families hosted by the Royal British Legion in Staffordshire on August 15, 2025 (Eddie Mulholland/PA Images/Alamy)
On Friday, the British royal family participated in events to mark the 80th anniversary of VJ Day, the end of World War II. For a service of remembrance in Staffordshire, Queen Camilla wore classic pearls and a diamond-set military badge from one of her regiments.
King Charles III and Queen Camilla arrive at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire for a service of remembrance to mark the 80th anniversary of VJ Day on August 15, 2025 (Joe Giddens/PA Images/Alamy)
King Charles III and Queen Camilla arrived at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire on Friday to attend a special service of remembrance jointly sponsored by the government and the Royal British Legion. Afterward, Buckingham Palace noted, they “spent time with veterans who served in the Far East during the Second World War for the British and Commonwealth Armed Forces, accompanied by their families and carers.”
King Charles III and Queen Camilla attend a service of remembrance to mark the 80th anniversary of VJ Day at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire on August 15, 2025 (Aaron Chown/PA Images/Alamy)
The touching service was held at the dramatic arboretum, which is located in the village of Alrewas. The memorial is a site of national remembrance in Britain. Opened in 2001, the arboretum includes hundreds of memorials to the men and women who have served their country in the military, civilian organizations, and volunteer forces. At the center of the arboretum is the Armed Forces Memorial, which is dedicated to the memory of the thousands of men and women killed on duty since World War II.
Ahead of the service, the palace shared a speech by King Charles to mark the occasion, which began, “For the millions of families gathered around their wireless sets, and for their loved ones still serving far from home, it was the message a battle-weary world had long prayed for. ‘The war is over,’ declared my grandfather, King George VI, in his address to the nation and Commonwealth on VJ Day eighty years ago today–four short words after six long years of bloodshed, fear, and suffering. Seldom can a simple message have resonated with such a potent mix of relief, celebration, and sorrow for those who never lived to see the glow of freedom’s new dawn.” You can read the full speech here.
King Charles III and Queen Camilla attend a service of remembrance to mark the 80th anniversary of VJ Day at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire on August 15, 2025 (Paul Edwards/PA Images/Alamy)During the service, some of the remaining living veterans of the Pacific theater of the war shared remarks. One, 104-year-old Captain Yavar Abbas, brought Charles and Camilla to tears when he went off-script for a moment, saying, “Before I read the excerpt, I make due apologies for briefly going off the script to salute my brave King, who is here with his beloved Queen in spite of the fact that he’s under treatment for cancer.” Abbas also shared that he too has been treated for cancer, earning applause when he revealed that he has been “rid of it for 25 years and counting.” You can learn more about Abbas’s remarkable bravery in this profile from the BBC.
Queen Camilla and Sir Keir Starmer arrive for a service of remembrance to mark the 80th anniversary of VJ Day at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire on August 15, 2025 (Joe Giddens/PA Images/Alamy)
For the service and the reception that followed, Queen Camilla wore a white dress with pleated details and rickrack trim. We previously saw her wear the dress with different accessories (and the Ladies of India Brooch!) at Royal Ascot in June 2024.
Queen Camilla arrives for a service of remembrance to mark the 80th anniversary of VJ Day at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire on August 15, 2025 (Aaron Chown/PA Images/Alamy)
For the service in Staffordshire, Camilla kept her jewelry simple, wearing her favorite diamond and pearl drop earrings, a necklace with a pendant engraved with the initials of her grandchildren, several bracelets, and a diamond-set brooch in the shape of the cap badge of the Rifles. She has worn the badge regularly since becoming the regiment’s Colonel-in-Chief in 2020.