Prince George was his parents’ pride and joy as he joined the Prince and Princess of Wales for a tea party at Buckingham Palace this afternoon.

The young royal, 11, was polite and listened attentively as he made a surprise appearance, and spoke with veterans to commemorate VE Day on Monday. 

Dressed in a smart suit with a blue tie, William and Kate’s eldest son beamed as he posed for photos with attendees and joined in conversation with guests.

George, who will be turning 12 this summer, is usually joined by his siblings for public engagements. 

However, the tea party will likely have provided the prince a small taste of his future duties as King – with the prince second in line to the throne after his father. 

William smiled as he shook hands with veterans and said it was ‘very important’ for his son and the ‘next generation’ to hear the stories from those who fought in the war. 

George spoke to 101-year-old Alfred Littlefield, who served during D-Day.

Mr Littlefield, originally from Cosham near Portsmouth, told the two princes how he signed up to the Army aged 20, and joined the D-Day landings, bravely swimming into the Normandy beaches under heavy shell fire.

Inquisitive George asked: ‘What was it like when you were coming in?’, to which Alfred replied: ‘Pretty awful’.

After talking to the father and son duo for a few minutes, Alfred turned to George and said: ‘You know, it’s very important you are here today. 

‘It’s days like this that we should use to talk about things like this, so the younger generation can have some understanding.’

Alfred later told William approvingly of his son: ‘You should be very proud.’

Army veteran Charles Auborn, 99, from London joined the war effort as an 18-year-old gunner in 1955.

He told the Princess of Wales how he was deployed to Egypt before the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, joking how his officer’s first words on his return to the UK were ‘how are you boys for shorts?’.

‘This is my son George I was telling you about,’ she said, ushering him to the table.

As Mr Auborn showed George pictures of the M4 Sherman tanks he operated during the war, the young prince asked him ‘Were they hard to operate? It must have been very tough with the weather.’

Kate also held Mr Auborn’s hand as she examined his service photograph. ‘Look at you, you are a very handsome young man,’ she said winsomely.

‘You’ve got a nice looking boy there, you’re going to have to keep an eye on him,’ Charles replied.

Former frontline codebreaker Bernard Morgan, 101, revealed how two days before VE Day, he received a telex to say, ‘German war now over, surrender effective sometime tomorrow’, but had to keep it secret.

‘I had signed the Official Secrets Act so I kept it to myself for 50 years after the war. It was a very privileged position to be in,’ he said.

‘My parents didn’t even know what I did during the war…

‘The princess was so lovely. She..said she was very pleased we were here to tell the younger generation about what we went through.

‘But whenever I go to an event like this, I always think about my comrades who didn’t come home and especially three airmen we lost in Normandy.

‘We are the lucky ones and I have never forgotten that.’

Further down the table, William and George also chatted with Dougie Hyde, 99, who joined the Merchant Navy in 1944, aged just 18.

He started out working as a ‘fireman’ stoking boilers and later joined a secret operation to liberate Europe, spending months going back and forth to the beaches deploying munitions and amphibious vehicles.

Displaying an avid interest, George asked the former seaman ‘Did you ever get shot at?’ and ‘Did you ever see a U-boat?’

After their chat, Dougie said: ‘I was very impressed with the lad’s interest. 

‘He was very polite. Whenever I used to do talks to young kids, that’s all you ever wanted, for them to listen and have a little understanding of those days.

‘I think it’s so important for us to remember.’

Working at the opposite end of the table the King stopped to talk to Ruth Bourne, 98, about her days working as codebreaker at Bletchley Park.

On VE Day, she went to London with a colleague to celebrate: ‘We waited outside the Palace chanting “We want the King.” 

‘The Royal family came out, and we went mad cheering. People were climbing lamp posts; I climbed onto a window ledge shouting, “Three cheers for the British Navy!” ‘

Charles said to her: ‘We owe you all an immense debt of gratitude. Without you things could have been very different.’

Norman Trickett, 101, said he performed a magic trick for the Queen, which involved tying string on Camilla’s finger before whipping it off, leaving her in stitches.

Mr Trickett said: ‘I was dared to show the magic trick to the Queen, so I did it.

‘She loved it, so I’m glad, I’m chuffed to be here, very proud.’

Many of the veterans at the palace were only able to travel to the commemorations with the help of The Royal British Legion (RBL).

Joy Trew, 98, who served in the WAAF (Women’s Auxiliary Air Force) was hailed by the Princess of Wales as an ‘inspiration’.

She said: ‘I’m speechless, it’s better than I thought. I’ve never been to London let alone be invited to sit with the King.

‘The King asked about my family and spoke about the formidable ladies on the parade.

‘We spoke about everyone going on these days and all the young people these days. He said everything is going to be alright.’

During the festivities, George was every inch the doting older brother as Prince Louis appeared to copy his movements. 

The royal was seen talking to his seven-year-old brother during an event at Buckingham Palace, marking the 80th anniversary of the formal end of World War II in Europe.

While the pair sat next to each other, Louis was spotted catching a glimpse at his brother’s actions throughout the parade and, at one point, copied the future king in his mannerisms.

At one point George, caught by a gust of wind, gently brushed his hair from his face. Seconds later, his younger brother copied him – but added a little of his trademark cheeky flair to the movement as he swished his hair to the side.

It’s unclear whether the young royal was looking up to his older brother in a bid to be just like him, or just teasing George – but royal fans were left in stitches either way. 

And later in the ceremony, Louis appeared to roll his eyes at his older brother.

Sitting on the other side of George was his younger sister Princess Charlotte, who recently celebrated her 10th birthday.

Wearing a navy suit with a light-coloured shirt and a royal blue tie, George looked dapper for the occasion.

Meanwhile, Louis also sported a suit, and Charlotte opted to rewear the blue and green coat she picked for last year’s Christmas morning service in Sandringham.

Ahead of the festivities, the Wales family, including Kate – who was wearing a plum Emillia Wickstead coat and matching hat – and William were photographed walking together to their seats.

Prince George appeared to look serious as he strode ahead of his younger siblings, who were followed by their father William, who walked behind them.

The Wales were not the only royals at the milestone event: members of the Firm were out in force for the anniversary celebrations.

King Charles and Queen Camilla, Princess Anne, and the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh were among those attending the commemorations.

The royals observed a military procession from a specially built dais on the Queen Victoria Memorial outside Buckingham Palace while thousands of people packed the streets as four days of commemorations began.

While formal military events take place in London, with the procession involving 1,300 members of the Armed Forces from Parliament Square to the Mall, hundreds of street parties are also being held across the country.

This was followed by the Royal Family watching a flypast of iconic Royal Air Force planes from the palace balcony, before Charles hosted a tea party for some of the last living heroes of the conflict as well as their families.

Charles was wearing Naval Uniform No.1 dress, with no medals or decorations, as his grandfather King George VI wore on the palace balcony on VE Day in 1945 – while William wore RAF No.1 Uniform. 

Camilla was dressed in a sapphire blue wool crepe dress and coat, by Fiona Clare, with the 12th Royal Lancers Brooch, the regiment of her late father Major Bruce Shand.

Elsewhere, the Duke of Edinburgh wore Army No.2 Service Dress of the Scots Guards, while Duke of Kent wore Field Marshal No.2 Service Dress – and Princess Anne, who was also present, wore the uniform of the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (Princess Royal’s Volunteer Corps) with no decorations. 

The late Queen Elizabeth II, as Princess Elizabeth, wore the military uniform for her palace balcony appearance on VE Day 1945 as a member of the Auxiliary Territorial Services.

Nato allies will join 1,300 members of the armed forces for a procession in the city, and the words of Sir Winston Churchill’s 1945 victory speech will be spoken by actor Timothy Spall to kick off events for the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day.

In Whitehall the Cenotaph was draped in a large Union flag, with the south and north face of the landmark covered. 

It is the first time the war memorial has been draped in Union flags since it was unveiled by King George V more than a century ago, in 1920.

Crowds started to gather on The Mall this morning, with some arriving the day before to secure a good viewing spot. Caroline Tomlinson, 59, travelled from Doncaster to witness the parade and camped overnight.

Dressed in Union flags, she said: ‘I’ve been watching lots of footage from 1945 when everybody was gathering outside the palace, so just great to be a part of it here we are again 80 years later to do the very same. I got here at 2pm yesterday afternoon, sat in the red chair all night, had a little bit of sleep.

‘I’m used to this, I’ve been to the other events. I’ve been to the Platinum Jubilee, the Coronation, the Queen’s funeral, Royal weddings. Sleeping over is now my thing. It was very cold but I dressed accordingly and got through it. Slept about three times in one-hour bursts.

‘I came here alone, the community is always so lovely. I’m absolutely hoping to catch a glimpse of the Royals.’

Michael Burn, 67, arrived at The Mall outside Buckingham Palace this morning. Dressed head to toe in a Union flag suit he said: ‘Obviously I’m very patriotic so I make the most of any of these events, the coronation or anything like that I’ll be here.

‘I think we’ve been very lucky that we’ve had 80 years of peace and these are very troubled times at the moment and we’ve got to think about all those that have the ultimate sacrifice and there’s very few of them left now because they’re all over 100. This is the last time we will celebrate the day in this sort of scale.’

Speaking of his suit and holding a seven foot Union flag he said: ‘I bought this for the London 2012 Olympics and have worn it at every Royal event since. ‘I can still get into it,’ he joked.

Lizzie McCrae MacIntyre, a retired Women’s Royal Air Force veteran, arrived at the Admiralty Arch at 4am to see the parade. Ms MacIntyre, who travelled from Surrey, said: ‘It’s so important to remember those that didn’t make it home. My dad was military, my brother was Air Force.’

Geoffrey York, 71, said: ‘We are all ex-military.’

The Household Cavalry veteran said: ‘We were here for the coronation, we camped out for three nights for the Queen’s funeral. It’s a big day for us to pay our respects. My dad was a prisoner of war in Tobruk, Libya. He escaped in 1944.’

Two women gathered outside Buckingham Palace made their own dresses for the occasion.

Grace Gothard, from Ghana, describing her Union flag dress, said: ‘I made this dress personally. So anytime there’s any royal occasion I make my own dresses. It took two weeks to make.

‘The last one was the King’s coronation and that dress is in a museum now.

Satvinder Cubb, wearing a dress which reads Lest We Forget, added: ‘I also made my dress. I had a Union flag one before but this year I wanted something simple to represent all the soldiers that actually fought. It took just a few hours to make because it’s actually two flags joined together. And I don’t have a sewing machine so it was all by hand.’

The pair met at the Queen’s jubilee and have attended royal events together in handmade dresses ever since. They arrived at The Mall at 6am this morning.’

Ms Cubb added: ‘I know people who have actually fought in the war. I have a very close friend, he’s 94 and was 14 at the time. It’s just about thanking them all. We’re here for a reason and have freedom now. It’s important for us to be a part of it.’

One group of women gathered outside the palace have brought along song sheets to pass out to the crowd. They practised singing their songs ahead of the parade.

Mandy Ellis, 67, from the Midlands, said: ‘We do all the royal events. I’ve been doing this 60 years now. We all get the gang together – there’s seven of us come down. The oldest is my Auntie Linda, she’s 87. My daughter Cara, she’s the youngest.’

Wearing a Union flag hat, she said: ‘I sing in the local choir, we’ve had some song sheets over the years for different events so I just adapted them at home. We’ve got everything from Land of Hope and Glory, We’ll Meet Again, Pack Up Your Troubles, the National Anthem.

‘It’s the smallest thing we can do to say thank you for 80 years of peace and the sacrifice everyone made.’

David Smith, a military royal engineer from 1960 to 1972, travelled from Lincolnshire yesterday to honour the veterans at the parade. The 79-year-old said: ‘It’s about patriotism. It’s what we do.’

Mr Smith has marched at the Cenotaph for 26 years and will watch the parade today from The Mall.

His wife Muriel said: ‘Where we live in Lincolnshire, the ‘bomber county’, there is always a bomber base five miles from you. There’s still air raid shelters where we live.’

About the parade, the 77-year-old said: ‘I just love the songs, the ceremony, everything. I’ve heard some stories about Victory Day. Some naughty stories!’

Maria Crook, 69, travelled from Devon to London yesterday and set up to watch the procession from Whitehall early this morning.