King Charles III led national commemorations on Friday marking the 80th anniversary of Victory over Japan Day, the moment in 1945 when Japan’s surrender ended the Second World War. The King and Queen joined Prime Minister Keir Starmer, veterans and diplomats at a service of remembrance at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire after the country observed a two-minute silence at noon. In an audio message recorded earlier this month, the monarch paid tribute to the "service and sacrifice" of the more than 71,000 British and Commonwealth personnel who died in the Far East, including some 12,000 prisoners of war. Echoing the broadcast made by his grandfather King George VI eight decades ago, Charles vowed that those who fought and fell “shall never be forgotten” and highlighted the suffering of civilians as a reminder of war’s wider cost. The day’s programme opened with military bagpipers playing the lament “Battle’s O’er” at dawn at the Cenotaph in London, Edinburgh Castle and the arboretum. A flypast featuring the Red Arrows and historic Dakota, Hurricane and Spitfire aircraft followed the midday service. From 9 p.m., landmarks such as Buckingham Palace, the Tower of London, Blackpool Tower and the White Cliffs of Dover were to be illuminated in remembrance, concluding a series of events that began with a sunset ceremony at London’s Memorial Gates on Thursday.