France to invite Queen to be centre of 70th anniversary of D-Day landings in service at Sword Beach French President Francois Hollande will personally ask the Queen The D-Day landings marked the beginning of the end of Nazi Occupation of France Some 16 heads of state including Obama will also be invited France wants to place the Queen at the centre of the D-Day 70th anniversary to mark the 'key role' Britain played in his country's liberation, it emerged today. President Francois Hollande will personally invite Her Majesty to Normandy on June 6 next year, when millions will remember the greatest seaborne invasion in military history. It marked the beginning of the end of the Nazi Occupation of France, and also heralded victory for the Allies in the Second World War. Personal invitation: French President Francois Hollande (right) is going to invite the Queen (left) to feature in the D-Day 70th anniversary in Normandy on June 6 next year In previous years, the French have been accused of playing down Britain's contribution to the landings, in favour of the Americans. But Mr Hollande now wants Sword Beach, the code name given to one of two British landing sectors, to host the main commemorative ceremony. "Above all, Francois Hollande will roll out the red carpet for the Queen of England," the Parisien newspaper reports today. Pay tribute: The focal point of the ceremony will held at Sword Beach (pictured on D-Day as soldiers arrive) to honour the British involvement and 'the determination of the English throughout the war' It adds that Sword Beach, centred on the port of Ouistreham, will be chosen as a focal point so as to pay tribute to "the British involvement in the landing, and the determination of the English throughout the war." Government sources in Paris said that some 16 heads of state would be invited, including the Queen and US President Barack Obama. One pointed to a speech Mr Hollande made last year on the 69th anniversary of the 1944 invasion. Fateful day: Queen Elizabeth was just 18 at the time of D-Day in 1944 Mr Hollande said: "I pay tribute to Britain, who was alone against barbarism for so long and who never surrendered. For four years, London was the capital of free Europe, and one man, Winston Churchill, held firm so that we too could be ready to fight along with General de Gaulle and the Resistance. The then Princess Elizabeth was 18 at the time of D-Day, and was famously pictured visiting British parachutists on the eve of the invasion. She is expected to accept President Hollande's invitation enthusiastically, and Prime Minister David Cameron is also likely to attend, said one of the French government sources. Kader Arif, France's Veterans Affairs minister, said the country would be spending the equivalent of more than 2.7 million pounds on the Normandy commemorations so as "to mark eternal gratitude to its allies." German Chancellor Angela Merkel will also be on the guest list, so as to stress the "peaceful nature" of the anniversary events, said Mr Arif. 2014 will be a hugely historic year for France, as it will also be the 100th anniversary of the start of World War 1, much of which was fought on French soil. Roll out the red carpet: Some 16 other heads of state will be invited to the ceremony to honour the landings (pictured) Thousands of Allied soldiers, mostly from the United States, Britain and Canada, landed in Normandy to begin the drive to break the German occupation of Europe in 1944. The soldiers charged the shores of five beaches on France's northern coast, facing German land mines, machine guns and heavy artillery. The invasion, a victory for the allies, is known as the key turning point of World War II. Some 215,000 Allied soldiers, and roughly as many Germans, were killed or wounded during D-Day and the ensuing three months before the Allies captured Normandy, opening a path toward Paris that eventually took them to Germany and victory over the Nazis.