Joined by her son, Prince Charles, and US president Donald Trump and wife Melania, the mood was significantly lighter as the Queen shook hands and chatted with the servicemen, including 94-year-old royal marine Jack Smith, who was part of the first wave during D-Day.
Jack told Her Majesty about his time at war, and how he spent almost three months at the Normandy beaches ferrying the injured, munitions and other cargo, sleeping on his vessel under a tarpaulin sheet and was regularly strafed with bullets by Nazi planes.
According to Jack's son-in-law, when the veteran told Her Majesty about the devastating conditions on D-Day, the Queen reportedly replied: “You don’t have to tell me – I’m from the same generation.”
According to Jack's son-in-law, the elderly man teased the 93-year-old Queen, quipping back, “I’m older than you!”