King Charles III gives thanks to D-Day veterans with Prince William, Queen Camilla

King Charles III, Queen Camilla and Prince William are commemorating the 80th anniversary of D-Day as a family.

The British monarch gave a passionate speech remembering veterans at an event in English coastal city Portsmouth on Wednesday, the eve of the Allied invasion of Normandy in 1944. Operation Overlord was the joint air and sea invasion of German Nazi-occupied France by World War II Allies and the French Resistance.

"Today we come together to honor those nearly 160,000 British, Commonwealth and Allied troops," who "assembled here and along these shores to embark on the mission which would strike that blow for freedom and be recorded as the greatest amphibious operation in history," Charles said. "All knew that both victory and failure were possible, and none could know their fate."

He continued, "It is a near impossible task to imagine the emotion of that day: the pride of being part of so great an enterprise, the anxiety of in some way not coming up to scratch, and the fear of that day being their last."

Sharing a personal anecdote, the king said he recently spoke to a veteran who said they "remember with such heartbreaking clarity the sight of those many soldiers lying on the beach, who drowned before they could even engage in combat."

"And as we remember, with humility, pride and gratitude, let us never forget that the soldiers who fought in the campaign launched from this place came from thirty nations, from across the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth and Allied countries," he continued.

The King also honored Europe Allied forces fighting against Nazis in Italy and an ongoing war in Japan fought by Britain and Sikh, Muslim and Hindu soldiers from India that occurred simultaneously with D-Day.

Charles added: "While it was the frontline troops who faced the greatest personal dangers, the privations and sacrifices of war were endured by so many more."

"So, as we give thanks for all those who gave so much to win the victory, whose fruits we still enjoy to this day, let us, once again, commit ourselves always to remember, cherish and honor those who served that day and to live up to the freedom they died for by balancing rights with civic responsibilities to our country," he concluded. "For we are all, eternally, in their debt."

William and Camilla joined Charles, who recently re-entered the spotlight after taking a step back from public duties while undergoing treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer.

Charles will continue treatment for an undetermined amount of time, but according to Buckingham Palace, "doctors are sufficiently pleased with the progress made so far that The King is now able to resume a number of public-facing duties."

The palace also noted his outings would "remain subject to doctors' advice," but he will not have a full summer programming.

Prince William responds to veteran asking whether Princess Kate is 'getting any better'

One of the veterans at the ceremony asked the prince whether his wife, Princess Kate, is "getting any better."

"Yes," Prince William responded, according to a video published by The Telegraph. "She would've loved to be here today.”

According to The Independent and People, he added, “I was reminding everybody her grandmother served at Bletchley, so she would have had quite a bit in common with a few of the other ladies here who served at Bletchley but never spoke about it until the very end.”

Kensington Palace announced in March that Kate had been diagnosed with cancer and underwent "a course of preventive chemotherapy treatment."

King Charles, Queen Camilla and Prince William will go to France. Is Princess Kate joining?

On Thursday, Charles will take his first trip out of the country since his public return. The British monarch, Camilla and William will head to France for more commemorative events for the official D-Day.

It has not been announced whether Princess Kate will travel with the bunch.

The royal has remained out of the public eye since December. In March, she recorded a video shared by the Palace detailing her cancer journey and asking for "time, space and privacy while I compete my treatment."

"I wanted to take the opportunity to thank you personally for all the wonderful messages of support and for your understanding whilst I've been recovering from surgery," Kate said in the video. "It has been an incredibly tough couple of months for our entire family."

"In January, I underwent major abdominal surgery in London. And at the time, it was thought that my condition was non-cancerous," she continued. "The surgery was successful. However, tests after the operation found cancer had been present."

"My work has always brought me a deep sense of joy, and I look forward to being back when I am able. But for now I must focus on making a full recovery," she said. "At this time, I'm also thinking of all those whose lives have been affected by cancer. For everyone facing this disease, in whatever form, please do not loose faith or hope."

At the time of her surgery, Kensington Palace predicted she'd return to public duties, at the earliest, after Easter.

Contributing: Jay Stahl, KiMi Robinson

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: King Charles III recognizes WWII veterans for 80th D-Day anniversary