No invite, so Royals will give D-Day anniversary event a miss

Published on Thursday 28 May 2009 20:20

NO MEMBER of the Royal family will attend next week's official D-Day commemorations in France because they have not been invited, Buckingham Palace said.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown will represent the UK at events in Normandy on 6 June to mark the 65th anniversary of the landings that helped defeat Hitler's Germany.

British Normandy veterans criticised the absence of the Queen from the guest list for the commemorations after it emerged that she had not received an invitation.

French officials responded by insisting she was welcome and blaming the UK government for deciding who should attend what they said was "primarily a Franco-American ceremony".

Luc Chatel, a spokesman for the French government, said yesterday: "It is not up to France to determine the British representation."

But Buckingham Palace confirmed yesterday that the Queen would not attend the event.

A spokeswoman said: "Neither the Queen nor any other members of the Royal family will be attending the D-Day commemorations on 6 June as we have not received an official invitation to these events.

"We would like to reiterate that we have never expressed any sense of anger or frustration, and are content with all the arrangements that are planned."

US president Barack Obama will join French president Nicolas Sarkozy for next week's commemorations.

It is understood that Defence Secretary John Hutton and General Sir Richard Dannatt, the head of the army, will attend on behalf of the UK.