Prince William spoke about his wife the Princess of Wales while chatting to veterans and their families at a D-Day event in Portsmouth.

Prince William speaks to D-Day veterans (Image: Getty)

Prince William said his wife would have “loved” to have joining him and the King and Queen at an event marking the 80th anniversary of D-Day.

Speaking to war veterans and their families, the Prince of Wales was told by one veteran that it was “carnage” on Juno beach.
The D-Day hero asked William if the Princess of Wales was ‘getting better’ and William replied: “She’d have loved to be here.”

Speaking to another very, called Norman, William said: “We want you here five years time for the 85th”.
He also spoke with a woman who is understood to have been a Bletchley Park codebreaker.

William told her: “My wife’s grandmother did the same sort of thing as you. Catherine only found out at the end of her life.”

Valerie Middleton, Kate’s grandmother, worked as a codebreaker at Bletchley Park which broke the Enigma code.

One veteran told William he was on Juno beach and described it as ‘carnage’.

The King also spoke with veterans and was introduced to a 99-year-old paratrooper who turns 100 in August, and Charles said: “I’ll have your card ready.”

Earlier the Prince of Wales paid tribute to the “bravery of those who crossed this sea to liberate Europe” and the loved ones who waited for their return as he read a haunting extract from the diary of a D-Day soldier at the 80th anniversary commemorations.

Heir to the throne William took centre stage at the national ceremony in Portsmouth marking the historic 1944 Normandy landings, the turning point in the allies’ Second World War victory.

The King also spoke at the event where he praised the “truly collective effort” of those on the Home Front during the Second World War and said Britain today was “eternally” indebted to those who served.