The wives of Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg opted to let their husbands take center stage at the D-Day anniversary event, with the couple staying in Paris to enjoy a shopping trip on Wednesday.
Rita Wilson and Kate Capshaw made the most of the French capital’s designer boutiques with a bit of retail therapy, a day before world leaders arrived in Normandy to mark 80 years since the famous landings.
Tom and Steven were among the big names in attendance after starring in and directing the famous war film Saving Private Ryan, which begins with a gruesome depiction of the D-Day landings.
Rita cut a stylish figure in a cream linen jacket and brown jumper, teamed with short white trousers as she shopped in the city.
Kate, who married Steven in 1991, wore a smart white shirt and tweed jacket, paired with a smart 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 to enjoy a shopping trip on Wednesday.
The couple took advantage of the French capital’s design boutiques with a little retail therapy.
Hours later, both Tom and Steven were photographed at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial in Colleville-sur-Mer, overlooking Omaha Beach.
Attendees cried as memories of veterans who survived the conflict were read.
Nearly 160,000 Allied troops landed in Normandy on June 6, 1944. Of them, 73,000 were from the United States and 83,000 from Great Britain and Canada. Forces from several other countries also participated, including French troops fighting with General Charles de Gaulle.
The Allies faced about 50,000 German forces.
Spielberg’s father, Arnold, was drafted into the US Army in January 1942, a month after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Thanks to his skills with radio equipment, Arnold was inducted into the Signal Corps.
He eventually rose to the rank of Chief of Communications in the 409th Bombardment Squadron which was based in India. It is estimated that the Spielberg family lost up to 20 relatives in the Nazi concentration camps. Arnold passed away in 2020.
Earlier this year, Hanks and Spielberg teamed up once again to executive produce the Apple TV+ series Masters of the Air.
Joining Their Majesties King Charles and Queen Camilla at the event were 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 starring in and directing the famous war epic Saving Private Ryan.
Hours later, both Tom and Steven were photographed at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial in Colleville-sur-Mer, overlooking 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 opens with a look at the chaos of June 6, 1944 at Omaha Beach in Normandy, France, which would become known as D-Day.
Charles, along with President Macron, Sunak and military leaders laid wreaths of poppies at the monument while a brass band played Elgar’s Nimrod in the background, and the national anthems of France and the United Kingdom were also played as the Red Arrows They roared overhead. .
Elsewhere, Prince William was pictured attending Juno Beach, where thousands of Canadian soldiers lost their lives, along with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, ahead of an international meeting later in the day featuring US President Joe Biden.
The veterans present were recognized by the crowd for their efforts, as their numbers dwindle 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, military personnel and veterans to pay tribute to those who stormed the beaches.
The monarch appeared emotional as he listened to singer Johnny Flynn perform ‘Song with no Name’ in tribute to the fallen, while Camilla was seen wiping her eyes as actor Martin Freeman read a moving diary entry from a survivor who commented: ‘It is 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 keep the world safe from tyranny on the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings.
Speaking to commemorate veterans in Normandy, he expressed his “deep sense of gratitude” for the men and women “who did not flinch when the time came to face that test.”
He described the “supreme test” facing the troops, referring to the speech given by his grandfather, George VI, which he conveyed to the nation 80 years ago: “Once more a supreme test must be faced.” This time the challenge is not to fight to survive, but to fight to achieve final victory for a good cause.’
He also spoke of the importance of remembering what the war taught us: “We remember the lesson we received again and again throughout the decades: free nations must stand united to oppose tyranny.”
He concluded: ‘Our gratitude is inexhaustible and our admiration eternal.’
Earlier in the day, a lone military piper played on Gold Beach to commemorate the moment the first British troops stormed the Normandy coast on D-Day, 80 years ago today.
Pipe Major Trevor Macey-Lillie played Highland Laddie as he was taken to Arromanches Beach on a Royal Marines amphibious landing craft flanked by service members at the exact moment the first troops came ashore as part of the landing of Normandy.
Crowds gathered on the beach to watch the reenactment, reminiscent of a lone flutist who played during the landings and was never shot, during a picturesque sunrise, a far cry from the cloudy, rough seas that welcomed 25,000 soldiers landing in 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, nominated for 11 Oscars and winning six, including Best Director for Spielberg.
The film is set in 1944 France during World War II, following a battalion led by Captain John Miller (Tom Hanks) to find Private James Ryan, after it was learned that his three brothers had been killed in combat.
It also opens with a look at the chaos of June 6, 1944 at Omaha Beach in Normandy, France, which would become known as D-Day.
