Here are photos of Prince William and Justin Trudeau at Juno Beach in Courseulles-sur-Mer, for the 80th anniversary of D-Day. King Charles and Queen Camilla attended the commemoration event at the British Normandy Memorial in Ver-sur-Mer, and it was always the plan for William to spend some time honoring the Canadian troops who fought on D-Day. After this event on Juno Beach, William and Trudeau will make their way to Omaha Beach for the larger commemoration. They’re absolutely billing it as “William steps in for his cancer-stricken father” and the palace claims Charles is “delighted” that William will go to Omaha Beach in his place. Again: when Charles was PoW, he regularly did these kinds of events and he didn’t expect a gold star for global statesmanship for doing it either.

I find it interesting to compare and contrast William and Charles’s vibes and activities at these events. Charles wore one of his military dress uniforms and full military regalia, while William chose a slim-cut dark suit and with his medals. Both men gave speeches, but I have yet to find a full transcript of William’s speech (which probably means it was bad or unmemorable) while the transcript of Charles’s speech at the British Normandy Memorial almost brought me to tears.

William needs to figure out another way to talk to kids and people in wheelchairs. Bending at the waist and hovering over them menacingly isn’t working.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.