King Charles III inspects the Balaklava Company, 5th Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland, at the gates of Balmoral, as he takes up summer residence at the castleKing Charles admitted he ‘almost cried’ after hearing a touching tribute while fighting cancer.
The monarch recently joined Queen Camilla and war veterans at the the National Memorial Arboretum, in Staffordshire.
During the service, 105-yearold Yavar Abbas read extracts from his diaries during his time in Burma in 1945.
But he also took a moment to pay tribute to the ‘brave king’.
Mr Abbas said: “I make no 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 is under treatment for cancer.”
The crowd of about 1,500 broke out in applause as Mr Abbas revealed he had also battled cancer.
The veteran said hoped it would bring ‘comfort’ that he had been rid of the disease for 25 years.
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Mr Abbas added: “I salute him for gracing this occasion, because by his presence here, he has gone a long way to make sure that his grandad’s 14th Army is never given the sobriquet again of The Forgotten Army.”
Queen Camilla appeared visibly emotional, turning to Charles and appearing to wipe a tear from her eye as Mr Abbas spoke.
Mr Abbas was a captain in the 11th Sikh Regiment and is originally from Lucknow, in India.
Speaking after the reception, retired writer and TV producer Mr Abbas said: “I make no apology for going off the script.
“I admire the man… I admire The King. He has similar views about things as I have, about the environment for example.
“He’s human. When I went up to him and talked to him, he said something very touching to me.
“He said to me “when you said that I almost cried”. That’s our King and he’s a great King.”
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer also joined the national service of remembrance in Staffordshire on Friday, August 15.
Veterans aged from 96 to 105, who served in the Far East and Pacific, attended the VJ Day memorial ceremony.
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