Royals to honour air crash victims at Trooping the Colour
King Charles has asked the Royal Family taking part in the Trooping the Colour parade to wear black armbands, as a mark of respect to the victims of the Air India plane crash, Buckingham Palace said.The King requested a minute's silence, which will come after his inspection of the parade on Saturday, in recognition of "the lives lost, the families in mourning and all the communities affected by this awful tragedy", a Palace spokesman said.The Trooping the Colour ceremony in London marks the King's birthday, with 1,350 troops involved in the annual parade.The King, who is receiving cancer treatment, is expected to travel in a carriage as he did last year, rather than riding on horseback.
The King had sent a message of support soon after the news broke of the air crash, which claimed the lives of all but one of the 242 passengers and crew.Flags have been at half-mast at royal residences and the black armbands will add another sign of respect, with the King having said he was "desperately shocked by the terrible events in Ahmedabad".Coachmen and women on carriages in the parade are also likely to wear black armbands, along with those senior royals in military uniform in the parade, including the King and the Prince of Wales.Those royals at the ceremony but not in uniform will probably not wear armbands.The Trooping the Colour ceremony includes an inspection of troops on Horse Guards and the parade along the Mall. It culminates traditionally in a Red Arrows flypast over Buckingham Palace, watched from the balcony by the Royal Family.King Charles's actual birthday is in November, but in an effort to hold the event in better weather, monarchs have traditionally held public celebrations in the summer.The ceremony dates back to the 17th Century and sees regimental colours being displayed in front of the monarch - with the colours of the Coldstream Guards to be presented this year.At last year's event there had been huge interest in the return of the Princess of Wales after her cancer diagnosis, for what was her first public appearance of the year. The princess is now in remission from her cancer.The King is still receiving ongoing cancer treatment, but has seemed well enough for a busy round of engagements and is recently back from a well-received visit to Canada.
You can watch coverage of the King's Birthday Parade at 10.30am on Saturday on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
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To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The King wore a black armband in tribute to those killed in the Air India plane crash at Trooping the Colour today. Charles' official birthday was marked with a display of military pomp and pageantry, but at the King's request, the event acknowledged the aviation disaster that claimed the lives of 241 passengers and crew. The head of state and his wife left Buckingham Palace in a carriage at the head of a procession travelling along The Mall and into Horse Guards Parade, where hundreds of guardsmen were on parade. The appearance of the Prince and Princess of Wales' children sparked cheering when they were spotted in a carriage with their mother, Kate. Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis followed the King and Queen, with other coaches carrying the Duchess of Edinburgh, Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester. Riding behind the King were the royal colonels wearing black armbands – the Prince of Wales, who is Colonel of the Welsh Guards; the Princess Royal, Colonel of the Blues and Royals; and the Duke of Edinburgh as Colonel of the Scots Guards. Senior officers taking part in Trooping also wore black armbands as a mark of respect for the aviation victims, as did the coachmen and women from the Royal Mews, driving carriages carrying members of the royal family. A minute's silence will be observed after the King has inspected the guardsmen on the parade ground. A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said the King had requested amendments to the Trooping the Colour programme 'as a mark of respect for the lives lost, the families in mourning and all the communities affected by this awful tragedy.' In 2017, Trooping was held a few days after the Grenfell Tower blaze and the loss of life was marked by a minute's silence in a decision taken by Queen Elizabeth II. George, Charlotte and Louis joined other members of the monarchy in the former office of the Duke of Wellington to watch the Trooping the Colour spectacle in honour of their grandfather, the King. Kate took her place next to the King and Queen in her role as Colonel of the Irish Guards – a symbolic position and one she was unable to take up last year because she was receiving cancer treatment. Trooping the Colour is as much a social occasion as a ceremonial celebration of the King's official birthday, and the stands around Horse Guards Parade were filled with around 8,000 partners and the parents of the guardsmen and officers on parade. More Trending The colour-regimental flag being trooped this year was the King's Colour of Number 7 Company, Coldstream Guards, also known as the Sovereign's bodyguard and which is celebrating its 375th anniversary. The King's first duty was to inspect the troops, and he was followed by the royal colonels, William, Anne and Edward, as he travelled in a carriage with the Queen, Colonel of the Grenadier Guards, past the servicemen. The minute's silence was observed when Charles and Camilla returned to the dais, following an announcement to the spectators and a bugler sounding the Last Post. Charles, Camilla and Kate stood still looking ahead, and the silence was broken by a helicopter flying overhead, with the moment of reflection ending with the Reveille being played. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Air India crash: Families' anger at 'delays' in getting bodies of loved ones back MORE: Iconic moments that definitely scored David Beckham his knighthood MORE: When is Trooping the Colour? Date, time and how to watch on TV
