King Charles and Prince William Planning First Overseas Trip Since Cancer Treatments

In his first overseas trip since his February announcement that he was undergoing cancer treatments, King Charles III will travel to France to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day, as will Prince William and Queen Camilla.

Charles has long been a fixture at the June 6 events in Normandy and the UK, which annually mark the coordinated air and sea landings that led to the liberation of France and the eventual end of World War II. It was unclear if he’d be participating in person this year, given his recent diagnosis and a subsequent pause in royal duties.

Britain’s then-Prince Charles, Prince of Wales (L), reacts as he sits with his mother, Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, during an event to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings, in Portsmouth, southern England, on June 5, 2019. (Photo by Chris Jackson/POOL/AFP)

CHRIS JACKSON/Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles, Prince of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, attend a service at Bayeux Cemetary during D-Day 70 Commemorations on June 6, 2014 in Bayeux, France. (Photo by Samir Hussein/WireImage)

Samir Hussein

That pause ended last month, when King Charles and Queen Camilla visited the Macmillan Cancer Centre at University College Hospital to meet with patients and staff. On Friday, Buckingham Palace announced that his schedule would gear up in June, with a series of events to mark what remains the largest seaborne invasion in history.

The commemorations begin on June 5, when Charles, Camilla, and Prince William will attend a ceremony at Southsea Common in the English city of Portsmouth, one of the primary starting points for D-Day troops in 1944. According to the BBC, that event will include “light displays, readings and music.”

From there, Charles and Camilla will travel to France, where they will visit the British Normandy Memorial at Ver-sur-Mer on June 6, Sky News reports. Along with officials from the Ministry of Defence and Royal British Legion, 23 surviving D-Day veterans are expected to attend.