'Thank you for our freedom': Prince William stands in for cancer-stricken King Charles to honour D-Day heroes - as he leads major event on Omaha Beach alongside 25 heads of state including Biden, Macron and Zelensky

Prince William thanked veterans for fighting for freedom as he stepped in to represent Britain on the world stage in his father's place at a moving ceremony to honour the heroes of D-Day.

The Prince of Wales joined world leaders including US president Joe Biden, France's Emmanuel Macron and Canada's Justin Trudeau at Omaha Beach, to mark the historic event on its 80th anniversary. While in France, Prince William also met Ukrainian President Zelensky, as war rages in Ukraine against Russia.

The 41-year-old is deputising for his father King Charles at the major event while His Majesty continues to recover after undergoing treatment for cancer earlier this year.

The monarch had been present at the British Normandy Memorial in Ver-sur-Mer earlier in the day, paying tribute to the 'remarkable wartime generation' who put their lives on the line to end the Nazi occupation of Europe.

However, he and Queen Camilla have decided not attend the international commemorative ceremony in Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer which is 20 miles (32km) away, giving his eldest son and heir to the throne William a chance to shine.

At a Canadian commemorative ceremony on Juno Beach, William thanked those who served 'for our freedom', adding: 'All of you demonstrated heroism, and determination, that ensured fascism was conquered.' 

He praised the 'bravery and sacrifice' of D-Day veterans who served 'at that critical time'. 

He joins heads of state in attendance alongside King Frederik X of Denmark and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, while Defence Secretary Grant Shapps is also there.

Photographs show William greeting Zelensky as they attended the ceremony on Omaha Beach earlier today. 

Ahead of the meeting William surprised veterans and people who had gathered in Arromanches, also known as Gold Beach, to mark the milestone. 

The Prince, who was gifted a pin by one veteran in the seaside town and saw others pass along their well wishes to his father, stopped at the French town's D-day museum following his speech at the Canadian commemoration ceremony earlier in the day.

In Arramanches William told a group of British veterans how 'moving' the commemorations have been as he made the surprise stop in the town.

Veteran Julian Heal, 52, from Bristol, said: 'He [told us] 'it's all about the veterans', and people are getting older, and there's not many left on that, and he just said about how moving it was, especially the new monument on top of the hill.' 

Mr Heal, who served in Northern Ireland, added: 'As a veteran it's really good because he gets us, we have a good laugh, real approachable guy.' 

In an address at the Canadian ceremony earlier in the day he praised the 'bravery and sacrifice of the Canadian troops, who gave so much 80 years ago' as he delivered a speech at the ceremony on Juno Beach. 

He was joined by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, Canadian D-Day veterans and armed forces personnel in Courseulles-sur-Mer in France.

William said: 'Far from home they stormed these very sand dunes behind me, shoulder to shoulder with thousands of British troops.

'Standing here today in peaceful silence, it is almost impossible to grasp the courage it would have taken to run into the fury of battle that day.'

He continued: 'All of you demonstrated heroism, and determination, that ensured fascism was conquered.

'The commitment to service displayed by Canadian troops is a great testament to the strength of the people of Canada.

'Canada and the UK continue to stand side by side as we did in 1944. Just as strong together, 80 years later.

'Ensuring the memory of those who fought for freedom lives on is why we've come together again today - to say thank you.'

William, addressing veterans, added: 'Thank you for our freedom, and thank you for your service.'

Ending his speech, he repeated his appreciation in French: 'Merci pour notre liberte, et merci pour votre service.'

After the Canadian ceremony on Juno Beach, which included the playing of the Last Post and the observance of a minute's silence, alongside performances from Canadian musicians, William and the politicians briefly chatted to some of the veterans.

The prince asked one old servicemen 'memories bringing it all back?' and with the area now a picturesque stretch of sand with beach homes beyond the dunes, he added 'there's been a lot of changes.'

William moved on to talk to another Canadian veteran, and when the conversation turned toward the ages of the men who fought on D-Day the future king said 'a lot of people were lying about their ages'.

Before the Prince of Wales and the prime ministers of France and Canada left floral tributes on Juno Beach, a lone piper played a lament in the dunes as the waves crashed on the sands.

On D-Day, 359 Canadian soldiers were killed, while more than 5,000 troops from the Commonwealth country died over the course of the 11-week Battle of Normandy.

William's wreath had the handwritten note: 'Remembering all Canadian acts of bravery and sacrifice 80 years ago.

'Lest we forget. N'oublions jamais.'

While the Prince of Wales was at Juno Beach, his father and stepmother were attending an emotional ceremony at the British Normandy Memorial.

Charles led a crowd of 2,000 people, which included Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and French President Emmanuel Macron in a poignant silent prayer to remember those no longer with us, while memories of those who were on the beaches 80 years ago were also read out.

Charles, along with President Macron, Mr Sunak and military leaders laid wreathes of poppies at the memorial as Elgar's Nimrod was performed by a brass band in the background, with the national anthems of France and the United Kingdom also being played as the Red Arrows roared overhead. 

The monarch looked emotional as he listened to singer Johnny Flynn perform 'Song with no Name' in tribute to the fallen, while Camilla was seen wiping her eyes as actor Martin Freeman read a touching diary entry from one survivor who remarked 'it's because of the lads [who died] that I'm here today'.

The number of British veterans in attendance was only a few dozen, as the numbers of survivors dwindles with each year that passes - at the 75th anniversary five years ago 255 travelled to France, compared to the 50 who have made the journey this time around. 

Those veterans in attendance were presented with white roses by French schoolchildren while cadets waved flags, and received multiple standing ovations during the two-hour-long service, before shaking hands and exchanging words with His Majesty. 

In his speech, Charles said: 'Eighty years ago on D-Day, the 6th of June 1944, our nation - and those which stood alongside it - faced what my grandfather, King George VI, described as the supreme test.

'How fortunate we were, and the entire free world, that a generation of men and women in the United Kingdom and other allied nations did not flinch when the moment came to face that test.

'On the beaches of Normandy, on the seas beyond and in the skies overhead, our armed forces carried out their duty with a humbling sense of resolve and determination - qualities so characteristic of that remarkable war-time generation.

'Very many of them never came home, they lost their lives on the D-Day landing grounds or in the many battles that followed.

'It is with the most profound sense of gratitude that we remember them and all those who served at that critical time.

'We recall the lesson that comes to us again and again across the decades - free nations must stand together to oppose tyranny.'

Speaking in French as well as English, he also paid his respects to the people of France, who suffered under Nazi rule during the Second World War and who fought for freedom through La Résistance.

It comes as the number of surviving D-Day veterans continues to dwindle as the years go by, with fewer attending this year's commemorative events than ever before.

At the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings the Royal British Legion (RBL) took 255 veterans back to Normandy on a chartered ship, while this year only 23 will make the trip with the charity.

Around 50 British D-Day veterans are expected to be at events in Normandy today, and there have been emotional scenes as those who are well enough to make the journey have gathered in northern France.

A total of 22,442 service personnel under British command died on D-day and during the Battle of Normandy in the summer of 1944.

Nigel Steel, senior curator at the Imperial War Museum, said it is important to 'make the most' of having D-Day veterans as their numbers dwindle.

He told MailOnline: 'The presence of a veterans is special for us and I think we do need to make the most of that because we know that it's only a matter of time [before they're no longer there].

'When the veterans are there it's great because we can listen to them and we're kind of enamored by the veterans as much as the event.

'But without the veterans, as we are now doing with the First World War, we can still talk about it and remember it and appreciate the significance and remember the veterans as part of that historical memory.

'They [veterans] are so fascinating to us because they were actually there and in their heads are the real memories and all we can do is talk to them and pick this up second hand.

'I think that's the great thing about talking to veterans is that you feel your as close to the events as you can ever possibly be.

'You've kind of got a direct line back to those events because they were actually there and they were there witnessing and taking part in them.

'So that's why we need to make the most of it while they're still here but whilst we're talking to them we need to store up those memories so that we can then share them with the next generations who don't have the privilege of meeting them in person.'