D-Day snub from France for Queen Elizabeth

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LONDON, May 28 (UPI) -- Queen Elizabeth II will not attend the 65th anniversary of the D-Day invasion in France, even if France extends an invitation, Buckingham Palace said.

The queen was not on the initial invitation list and palace officials say even if France issues a belated invitation to next week's ceremony in Normandy, no member of the royal family will be able to attend, The Daily Mail reported Thursday.

The government of French President Nicolas Sarkozy this week described the event as "very much a Franco-American occasion," which will be attended by U.S. President Barack Obama. The French said the commemoration would be centered on Utah and Omaha beaches, taken by U.S. troops.

The government backtracked soon after, saying the queen would be "welcome" in Normandy.

Sarkozy and Obama were born long after V-E Day. The queen, a teenager when the war began, served for months in the Auxiliary Transport Service as Elizabeth Windsor. Her husband-to-be was an officer in the Royal Navy and an uncle, the Duke of Kent, was killed in a plane crash while on active service.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is getting brickbats, the Mail said, for not making sure the queen got an invitation.