The Queen burst out laughing after she met with a veteran on the D-Day anniversary service on Wednesday, to mark the Allied forces invasion of Normandy, France in 1944. During a brief conversation with the Queen, Thomas Cuthbert, 93, from Elmstead Market, Essex, explained that he had served in the Navy and was stationed on a landing barge oiler charged with refuelling other ships before the Queen quickly responded. The Queen said: “I thought you were going to tell me you had a bomb”.

The veteran and Queen both began laughed at the remark as the pair continued chatting.

Her Majesty was seen beaming throughout the conversation before she moved on to speak with another veteran.

On Wednesday the Queen attended the D-Day service in Portsmouth to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the day the Allied forces invaded Normandy, France in 1944.

The event on the south coast was attended by international leaders and veterans, as well as the Royal Family.

In her speech in Portsmouth, the monarch said “thank you” to all those who offered up “heroism, courage and sacrifice” to storm the beaches of Normandy in June 1944.

She said: “When I attended the commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the D-Day landings, some thought it might be the last such event.

“But the wartime generation – my generation – is resilient, and I am delighted to be with you in Portsmouth today.

“Seventy-five years ago, hundreds of thousands of young soldiers, sailors and airmen left these shores in the cause of freedom.

I thought you were going to tell me you had a bomb

The Queen

“In a broadcast to the nation at that time, my Father, King George VI, said: ‘…what is demanded from us all is something more than courage and endurance; we need a revival of spirit, a new unconquerable resolve’.

“That is exactly what those brave men brought to the battle, as the fate of the world depended on their success.”

Prime Minister Theresa May also appeared at the event and read a letter from Captain Norman Skinner of the Royal Army Service Corps, to his wife Gladys on June 3, 1944.

The letter was in his pocket when he landed on Normandy’s Sword Beach on D-Day but he was killed the following day, leaving behind his wife and two young daughters.

On Thursday, the official anniversary of the landing in Normandy, world leaders including outgoing British Prime Minister Mrs May, US President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron were among those gathering in France for events to mark the anniversary.

Addressing the ceremony, Mrs May said: “It’s an honour for all of us to share this moment with you.

“It’s almost impossible to grasp the raw courage it must have taken that day.”

After the memorial inauguration, Mrs May will join veterans and the Prince of Wales at a cathedral service in Bayeux.

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