Queen Camilla seen ‘covering’ her ears at VE Day concert amid complaints over performance

An array of acts graced the stage in front of His and Her Majesty

Queen Camilla looked less than enthused during the VE Day celebratory concert last night. The BBC concert rounded off four days of celebrations spanning from May 5 to the official Victory in Europe 80-year anniversary on May 8.

It was here that Her Majesty, 77, was seen covering her ears. Meanwhile, a string of acts entertained the gathered royal family members and veterans.
The celebrations have been going on for days (Credit: Zak Hussein / SplashNews.com)

Queen Camilla reacts to VE Day concert

It seems Queen Camilla shared a similar opinion to viewers at home who were left baffled by the line-up of performers.

The array of acts taking to the stage included The Darkness and a trio of soap star singers.

Justin Hawkins, frontman of The Darkness, put on an enthusiastic display, but viewers at home weren’t so convinced by his performance.

At one point, the queen was seen seemingly sticking her finger in her ear to drown out the noise. She did so as she spoke to Harry Richardson, a 107-year-old World War Two bomber pilot.

As she leaned in, the queen could be seen covering her ear, likely so she could hear Harry better.
Camilla appeared to be struggling to hear (Credit: BBC)
Consequently, viewers flocked to social media to share their thoughts. One person said: “The Darkness playing I Believe In A Thing Called Love was not on my VE Day bingo list.”
Several members of the royal family were in attendance (Credit: BBC)

Royal fans slam performance at VE Day concert

“The Darkness at the VE Day 80 concert is so random and not really a war time theme,” said another.

“These 107-year-old veterans of VE Day are loving The Darkness banging out I Believe In A Thing Called Love,” quipped a third.

Any idea what The Darkness have to do with VE Day?!

A fourth fumed: “Nope. The Darkness does not fit here. At all.”

Another added: “Any idea what The Darkness have to do with VE Day?!”
The Darkness were a surprising choice for the VE Day concert (Credit: BBC)
During the concert, British soap stars Emma Barton, Claire Sweeney and Michelle Hardwick channelled the 1940s Andrews Sisters.

Elsewhere, singers Fleur East, Freya Ridings and Samantha Barks were also amongst the line-up.

What is Victory in Europe Day?

Victory in Europe Day marks the day in 1945 when the fighting in Europe against Nazi Germany came to an end. This year it is 80 years since that day.

In 1945, people all over the UK flocked together to celebrate the end of conflict.

Joanna Burden, a teacher who was five-years-old in 1945 relayed her memories of VE Day in London to The Guardian.

She said: “I was almost five. We lived in London but we lived in the suburbs. We travelled into the centre of London and we went to stand outside Buckingham Palace because my mum and dad wanted to see the king and queen.

“I got very frightened because there were so many people and I was only a little tiny thing. I was standing holding my mummy’s and daddy’s hand (I had a hand each) but there were all these people around me and I got really frightened because I thought I was going to be crushed.

“So my daddy picked me up and put me on his shoulders. That meant I was above the people so I didn’t feel like that [any more] and I had such a lovely view of the thousands of people that were there. They were all singing, shouting and dancing in the street. When the royal family and Winston Churchill came on the balcony everybody cheered and it was really quite exciting.”