The Queen said her father was “so lucky” he was not injured more severely after being shot in the face during the Second World War.
In a conversation with veteran Douglas Cracknell at Clarence House, broadcast by the BBC as part of the VE Day coverage, Camilla shared her father’s experience of the conflict.
The Queen’s father, Major Bruce Shand, served with the 12th Lancers during the Second World War and was awarded the Military Cross in 1940 during the retreat to Dunkirk, and again in 1942 for his efforts in North Africa.
She told Mr Cracknell: “My father, who was captured at El Alamein, he was shot at and the bullet went through one side of his face, came out the other and he was so lucky because he didn’t hit his teeth or his tongue.”
The 99-year-old responded: “I always done what my father told me to do… Keep your head down.”
Last week, The Queen sat down with veteran Douglas Cracknell at Clarence House ahead of #VEDay80 commemorations.
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) May 5, 2025
Douglas was awarded the Legion d’Honneur for his service during the Second World War, when he served as a rifleman in the 5th Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry.… pic.twitter.com/FhRNdFcNlv
“Keep your head down, yes well that’s what I’d like to say is possibly very sensible advice because here you are today to tell the tale,” the Queen replied, laughing.
Reading an extract of her father’s diary, Camilla said: “Letters from home were very much the linchpins of our existence and the arrival of the post to regular intervals never failed in its excitement.
“I still recall the thrill some weeks after coming into the camp when somebody appeared in the library to tell me that there were a dozen letters waiting for me on my bed.”
“I remain eternally grateful to my many correspondents, family and otherwise,” she continued.
The Queen told Mr Cracknell that her father “never” talked to her about the war after he returned home.
“But I think really it should be talked about,” the veteran responded.
“We need it for future generations,” Camilla said, adding that passing down stories from the war to younger people was “very important because they wouldn’t be here now if it wasn’t for all of you”.
Earlier in the conversion, the Queen admired Mr Cracknell’s Legion d’Honneur medal and said he should be “very proud” of it.
Of his memories of VE Day, the veteran recalled: “I was in Bruges and they read out that the war was over and then that was chaos.”
“I woke up two days later in a barn,” he added, laughing.
