Kate Middleton and Prince William have something to say.
The famous spouses took a break from their summer hiatus on August 15 in order to praise the sacrifice of the wartime generation on the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II in Japan.
“Today, on the 80th anniversary of VJ Day, we remember the courage, sacrifice, and resilience of all who served. Today we especially think of those British and Commonwealth troops who fought in the Asia-Pacific,” Kate and William wrote via this joint statement on Friday.
“We owe an enduring debt to the generation who gave so much, and to whom we will always be grateful.”
The prince and the princess signed off the social media post with three simple words and their initials: “Lest we forget. W&C.”
As a quick history lesson:
VJ Day marks the end of WWII in Japan and the Pacific. The Japanese surrender followed the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, 1945.
We haven’t heard much from Kate and William for awhile.
They took a trip to Scotland in April to celebrate their own anniversary and, like we mentioned above, they’ve taken a summer break from their Royal Duties of late.
In May, the Royal family — including William and Kate’s three young children, Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, 7 — commemorated the end of the war in Europe.
At the time, there were parades and a flypast at Buckingham Palace.
Fast forward to this latest occasion.
William and Kate’s message this morning came ahead of an official commemoration of the anniversary, where King Charles and Queen Camilla led the United Kingdom at a service of remembrance at the National Artboretum in Staffordshire, England.
Earlier, Charles addressed the nation, saying very kind things about the ever-decreasing number of veterans and their loved ones for their service of eight decades ago.
He said:
“So to the families of all those who served, and to that sadly dwindling band of veterans among us still, please know that the courage and camaraderie displayed in humanity’s darkest hour is a flame that shall blaze for eternity – a beacon that honors our past and guides our future.”
The King ended his message as follows:
“Let us therefore pledge to be vigilant guardians of the values they bequeathed to us. And let us, above all, remember the epitaph in the Commonwealth War Graves cemetery on the battlefield of Kohima: ‘When You Go Home, Tell Them Of Us And Say, For Your Tomorrow, We Gave Our Today.'”
As far as Prince Harry is concerned?
Last we heard, William doesn’t want anything to do with his brother.