King Charles III and different members of the royal household wore black armbands and noticed a minute’s silence throughout his official birthday parade on Saturday, in reminiscence of those that died on this week’s Air India aircraft crash. The symbolic gesture got here on the King’s request. An announcement from Buckingham Palace mentioned it was made “as a mark of respect for the lives misplaced, the households in mourning and all of the communities affected by this terrible tragedy.” The crash occurred on Thursday, shortly after an Air India flight took off from Ahmedabad, heading for London. The accident claimed the lives of 241 folks on board and at the least 29 extra on the bottom. The aircraft was carrying 169 Indian nationals, 53 Britons, seven Portuguese residents and one Canadian. Just one particular person survived. As the pinnacle of state of the UK and head of the Commonwealth – which incorporates India and Canada – the King’s tribute throughout such a serious public occasion held added significance. The parade, often known as Trooping the Color, is a standard navy ceremony in central London, stuffed with music and pageantry. It marks the monarch’s official birthday and features a grand evaluation of troops on Horse Guards Parade close to St James’s Park. The royal relations in uniform have been seen carrying black armbands all through the occasion. The second of silence passed off whereas the King stood on the dais after he had inspected the troops. This isn’t the primary time such a gesture has been made throughout Trooping the Color. In 2017, Queen Elizabeth II additionally noticed a second of silence on the similar occasion, simply days after the Grenfell Tower fireplace, which killed 72 folks.
