todayis today is your victory. victory of the cause of freedom every land. cheering and applause in all our long history, we have never seen a greater in all our long history, we have never seen a greater day than this. after six long years of war, winston churchill declared the end of fighting in europe. it was the 8th of may 1945. victory in europe day. welcome to this special programme marking the 75th anniversary of ve day, when nazi germany surrendered

to allied forces and the second world war in europe was declared over. in a couple of minutes‘ time, at 11 o'clock precisely, the prince of wales and duchess of cornwall will lead a national moment of remembrance from del —— from balmoral. this was 75 years ago in trafalgar square, the nation was ready to celebrate. thousands of people poured on to the mall, calling out, we want the king. the royalfamily calling out, we want the king. the royal family appeared on the buckingham palace balcony eight times that day and they were later greeted by the prime minister winston churchill as the nation came together to celebrate victory in

europe. our royal correspondent nicholas witchell is with me now. today's commemorations are a far cry from what was planned before coronavirus but the royal family are still very much at the heart of it. and i think it's what the royal family does best, representing the entire nation and the commonwealth of nations, a symbol of unity and resolve at a time of challenge, of thankfulness, and at a time of commemoration. in queen elizabeth, we have a direct link to this day is 75 years ago. we saw her on the balcony of buckingham palace 75 yea rs balcony of buckingham palace 75 years ago alongside winston churchill and her father george vi. there is the added poignancy of remembrance, which has taken on this even sharper significance at the moment with all the losses of the pandemic. we recall a day 75 years ago when the nation, many nations, emerged from the war in europe when britain had suffered nearly half a million casualties and when the vetera ns

million casualties and when the veterans of that generation are having to be isolated. bagpipes play.

cannon fires

bagpipes play

sophie raworth: and there, on this cloudless day, over the white cliffs of dover, the iconic aircrafts such as symbols of the fight for survival against the nazis. and of the raf‘s superiority. and one last word from nick. tonight the queen will give her message to the nation. yes, an address to the nation at 9pm, when her father king george vi podcast to the nation. this is strangely representative of the day in that there are no great

national acts of commemoration, remembrance. thank you. and so begin today's events to commemorate ve day and to thank the world war ii generation for their service and sacrifice during those wartime years. given the current crisis we are living through now, paying tribute to them seems all the more poignant. you're watching bbc news. in the past few minutes, the prince of wales has led the uk