VE Day - Londoners Celebrate

After telling the British people that Hitler was dead, Winston Churchill declared that May 8, 1945 would be VE (Victory in Europe) Day.  Responding to the Prime Minister's announcement, more than a million people crowded London's streets to celebrate the end of the war.

In a rare event, for a "commoner," Churchill joined King George VI and his family - Queen Elizabeth (later the Queen Mother) and Princesses Elizabeth (in uniform) and Margaret - on the balcony of Buckingham Palace. 

Move the video forward - to 3:50 - to see Churchill greet the London crowds with the royal family.

Credits

Video clip from Pathe Gazette, "The Voice of Britain," online courtesy U.K. National Archives.