The Royal Family's Next Buckingham Palace Balcony Appearance Revealed for a Milestone Anniversary

King Charles, Queen Camilla and other royals will take part in several events commemorating the 80th anniversary of VE Day

King Charles, Queen Camilla and members of the royal family will gather on the Buckingham Palace balcony as part of the upcoming events commemorating the 80^th anniversary of VE Day, marking the end of World War II in Europe.

Buckingham Palace announced on April 25 that the royals will join Prime Minister Keir Starmer and World War II veterans to watch a military procession and flypast on May 5, kicking off four days of events surrounding the milestone anniversary.

The British royal family last gathered in the iconic spot in June 2024 as the finale of Trooping the Colour, the annual parade celebrating the monarch's birthday. The King and Queen were joined on the balcony by Prince William, Kate Middleton and their three children — Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis — among other family members.

Also on May 5, King Charles, 76, and Queen Camilla, 77, will host a tea party for veterans and members of the World War II generation at Buckingham Palace. The following day, Queen Camilla is set to view a new display of ceramic poppies at The Tower of London.

Members of the royal family will attend a Service of Thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey on May 7, and King Charles and Queen Camilla will attend a live celebratory concert from Horse Guards Parade to conclude the national VE Day commemorations on May 8.

In addition to national commemorations, members of the royal family will attend events to mark Liberation anniversaries on behalf of the King. The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester will attend the official commemoration of the Liberation of Denmark on May 4 while Princess Anne, accompanied by her husband Sir Tim Laurence, will visit the Channel Islands to mark the 80^th anniversary of the Liberation of Guernsey and Sark on May 9 and 10.

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The late Queen Elizabeth was a 19-year-old teenager when World War II ended, and the celebrations brought one of the most memorable “nights of my life,” she said. Having worked in the war effort in a reserve unit, she wore her uniform that evening and headed out among the crowds around the palace with her sister, Princess Margaret, to join the party.

The Queen, who died in 2022, said in a recording released in 2015, “We cheered the King and Queen on the balcony and then walked miles through the street. I remember lines of unknown people linking arms and walking down Whitehall, all of us just swept along on a tide of happiness and relief.”

To mark the 75th anniversary of VE Day in 2020, Queen Elizabeth gave an address on May 8 at 9 p.m. — the same time her father, King George VI, gave a radio message at the end of the war in 1945.

"At the start, the outlook seemed bleak, the end distant, the outcome uncertain. But we kept faith that the cause was right — and this belief, as my father noted in his broadcast, carried us through," the history-making monarch said. "Never give up, never despair — that was the message of VE Day."