The commemoration in Portsmouth on Wednesday was hosted by Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles and British prime minister Theresa May. Bettel was among the government leaders and heads of state of the countries which participated in the landings.

The attendees included US president Donald Trump and his wife Melania, French president Emmanuel Macron, Greek president Prokopis Pavlopoulos, German chancellor Angela Merkel, Czech prime minister Andrej Babis, Slovakian deputy pm Richard Rasi, Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte, Belgian prime minister Charles Michel, Norwegian prime minister Erna Solberg, Australian prime minister Scott Morrison, New Zealand governor Patsy Reddy, and Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau.

Via Twitter, Bettel said: “75 years ago our countries were about to embark on a decisive battle for Europe. Today we stand together to honour the memory of those who sacrificed their lives on D-Day & during WW2. We have a shared responsibility to ensure that such an unimaginable horror is never repeated.”