King Charles III observed a moment of silence during his official birthday parade in London on Saturday to honour the victims of the Air India plane crash that happened earlier in the week.
The annual Trooping the Colour parade, known for its colourful display of soldiers and horses, was changed this year to include a tribute to the 279 people who died in the crash, including 52 Britons.
The king, who is 76, also requested that some royal family members wear black armbands as a sign of mourning.
According to a Buckingham Palace spokesperson, the changes were made “as a mark of respect for the lives lost, the families in mourning and all the communities affected by this awful tragedy”.
The Air India plane, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner heading to London’s Gatwick Airport, crashed shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad in eastern India on Thursday. Only one person survived. He has been identified as British citizen Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, from Leicester.
Following the crash, King Charles sent a message saying he was “desperately shocked by the terrible events” and added, “my wife and I send our deepest possible sympathy to the families of those who have lost their loved ones”.
India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, later met with the survivor in hospital and shared a photo of the visit on social media.
Trooping the Colour is a yearly tradition that marks the British monarch’s official birthday. Though King Charles was born in November, the event is always held in June to take advantage of better weather.
Saturday’s parade began at Buckingham Palace, continued down The Mall, and ended at Horse Guards Parade. King Charles inspected the troops and received a royal salute while over 1,500 soldiers and nearly 300 horses took part in the display.
The king was joined by Queen Camilla, Prince William, his wife Catherine, and their three children—Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis. Princess Catherine, 43, also known as Kate, made a rare appearance as she continues her recovery from cancer. She had announced her diagnosis in early 2024, just weeks after King Charles revealed his own. She said in January that she was in remission.
Prince William, 42, wore a black armband in honour of the crash victims.
However, Prince Harry and his wife Meghan were not present at the event. The couple stepped down from royal duties in 2020 and now live in the United States.
Crowds gathered outside Buckingham Palace and along the parade route to watch the event. Among them were anti-monarchy protesters holding yellow signs with messages like “not my king” and “down with the crown”.
The parade ended with a flypast by the Red Arrows, the Royal Air Force’s aerobatic team, which flew over the palace as the royal family watched from the balcony.
The Trooping the Colour tradition dates back to the time of King Charles II, and it has been used since 1748 to mark the monarch’s official birthday. Despite recent health concerns, the king looked strong as he stood alongside his family, paying tribute to both tradition and the tragic loss of life earlier in the week.
