King Charles uses VJ Day address to warn of today’s global conflicts
King Charles III has used his VJ Day speech to deliver a stark warning about the ongoing toll of war, drawing parallels between the end of World War II in the Far East and current global conflicts.
Recorded earlier this month in the Morning Room at Clarence House, the address marked 80 years since Japan’s surrender and echoed a speech made by his grandfather, King George VI, in 1945, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
The King described the anniversary as a reminder that “war’s true cost extends beyond battlefields, touching every aspect of life — a tragedy all-too vividly demonstrated by conflicts around the world today.”
He honoured the sacrifices of the wartime generation, stressing that their unity across “vast distances, faiths and cultural divides” proved that “the greatest weapons of all are not the arms you bear, but the arms you link.” He also paid tribute to prisoners of war and civilians who endured extreme hardship.
Ahead of Donald Trump’s upcoming state visit to the UK, the King praised the USA’s role in the Pacific victory, recalling lessons learned from his great-uncle, Lord Mountbatten, who led Allied forces in South East Asia.
The message concluded with the poignant Kohima epitaph: “When you go home, tell them of us and say, for your tomorrow, we gave our today.”
The King and Queen Camilla will join veterans at the National Service of Remembrance in Staffordshire, with a two-minute national silence to be observed at midday.
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