The wives of Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg chose to let their husbands take center stage at the D-Day anniversary event, with the couple staying in Paris for shopping on Wednesday.
Rita Wilson and Kate Capshaw made the most of the French capital’s designer boutiques with a touch of retail therapy, a day before world leaders descended on Normandy to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the famous landing.
Tom and Steven were among the big names in attendance after famously starring in and directing the war epic Saving Private Ryan, which opens with a gruesome depiction of the D-Day landing.
Rita cut a stylish figure in a cream linen coat and brown sweater, teamed with cropped white trousers as she shopped in the city.
Kate, who married Steven in 1991, was dressed in an elegant white shirt and tweed blazer, paired with a chic white hat.
Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg’s wives Rita Wilson (left) and Kate Capshaw (right) skipped the D-Day anniversary event and stayed in Paris for shopping on Wednesday
The pair made the most of the French capital’s designer boutiques with a touch of retail therapy
Hours later, both Tom and Steven were photographed at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial in Colleville-sur-Mer, which overlooks Omaha Beach.
There were tears among those present as memories were read from veterans who survived the conflict.
Nearly 160,000 Allied troops landed in Normandy on June 6, 1944. Of these, 73,000 were from the United States and 83,000 from Great Britain and Canada. Military forces from several other countries were also involved, including French troops fighting with General Charles de Gaulle.
The Allies faced approximately 50,000 German troops.
Spielberg’s father, Arnold, was drafted into the U.S. Army in January 1942, a month after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Thanks to his skills with radio equipment, Arnold was assigned to the Signal Corps.
He eventually rose to the rank of communications chief in the 409th Bomb Squadron stationed in India. It is estimated that the Spielberg family lost as many as twenty relatives in Nazi concentration camps. Arnold passed away in 2020.
This year, Hanks and Spielberg teamed up again to produce the Apple TV+ series Masters of the Air.
Their Majesties King Charles and Queen Camilla were joined at the event by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron.
Tom and Steven were among the big names in attendance after famously starring in and directing the war epic Saving Private Ryan
Hours later, both Tom and Steven were pictured at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial in Colleville-sur-Mer, which overlooks Omaha Beach.
Saving Private Ryan is considered one of legendary director Steven Spielberg’s best films and one of the best war films ever made
It also famously begins with a glimpse into the chaos of June 6, 1944, on Omaha Beach in Normandy, France, that would become known as D-Day.
Charles joined President Macron, Sunak and military leaders in laying poppy wreaths at the monument as Elgar’s Nimrod was performed by a brass band in the background, while the national anthems of France and the United Kingdom were also played as the Red Arrows roared overhead.
Elsewhere, Prince William was seen at Juno Beach, where thousands of Canadian troops died, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau ahead of an international meeting later in the day that was also expected to be attended by US President Joe Biden.
The veterans in attendance were recognized by the crowd for their efforts, with their numbers dwindling with each passing year – at the 75th anniversary five years ago, 255 traveled to France, compared to the 50 who made the trip this time.
In Ver-sur-Mer, Charles led 2,000 dignitaries, soldiers and veterans in paying tribute to those who stormed the beaches.
The monarch looked emotional as he listened to singer Johnny Flynn perform ‘Song with no Name’ in tribute to the fallen, while Camilla wiped her eyes as actor Martin Freeman read a moving diary entry from a survivor who noted ‘it’s because of the boys [who died] that I am here today’.
Charles also paid tribute to the “remarkable wartime generation” who made the ultimate sacrifice to protect the world from tyranny on the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings.
In his speech commemorating the veterans of Normandy, he expressed his “deep sense of gratitude” for the men and women “who did not flinch when the moment came to face that test.”
He described the “supreme test” facing the troops, referring to the speech his grandfather, George VI, delivered to the nation eighty years ago: “There is once again an ultimate test to be met. This time the challenge is not to fight for survival, but to fight to achieve final victory for the cause.”
He also spoke of the importance of remembering what the war taught us: “We remember the lesson that has been struck us again and again through the decades: Free nations must work together to resist tyranny.”
He concluded: “Our gratitude is unfailing and our admiration eternal.”
Earlier in the day, a lone military bagpiper played on Gold Beach to mark the moment the first British troops stormed the coast of Normandy on D-Day 80 years ago.
Pipe Major Trevor Macey-Lillie played Highland Laddie as he was carried to Arromanches beach on a Royal Marines amphibious landing craft, flanked by soldiers, just as the first troops waded ashore as part of the Normandy landings.
Crowds gathered on the beach to watch the reenactment, which harkened back to a lone bagpiper who played during the landings themselves and was never fired upon, during a picturesque sunrise – a far cry from the cloudy and rough seas that welcomed 25,000 soldiers landing on the same stretch of coast in 1944.
Saving Private Ryan is considered one of legendary director Steven Spielberg’s best films and one of the best war films ever made. He was nominated for eleven Oscars and won six, including Best Director for Spielberg.
The film is set in 1944 France during World War II, after a battalion led by Captain John Miller (Tom Hanks) finds soldier James Ryan after it was revealed that his three brothers had been killed.
It also famously begins with a glimpse into the chaos of June 6, 1944, on Omaha Beach in Normandy, France, that would become known as D-Day.
