King Charles III commemorates Indian events with silent moments during the annual birthday parade
LONDON (AP) – King Charles III and other members of the royal family will wear black armbands, and the monarch will remember those who died in this week's Air India plane crash on Saturday, and will remain silent during his annual birthday parade.
Charles demanded that the symbolic move “is respect for the death, the family in mourning and all the communities affected by this terrible tragedy.”
Shortly after Thursday's departure, an air flight from the north-west city of Ahmedabad to London crashed, leaving 241 people on board and at least 29 on the ground. The plane carries 169 Indians, 53 British, 7 Portuguese and one Canadian. Survived by one person.
In addition to becoming the British head of state, Charles is also the head of the Commonwealth, an organization of independent countries including India and Canada.
The Monarch’s annual birthday parade, known as Color, is a historic ceremony filled with beauty pageants and military bands, whose Chinese king reviewed his troops near St James’ Park in central London.
All members of the royal family who participated in the parade will wear black armbands. After the troops are examined, the moment of silence will occur when the king is on the daisy.
Charles' mother, Queen Elizabeth II, continued a similar moment of silence in 2017, when the colors happened three days after the fire broke out at the Grenfell Tower Apartment Bloc in western London, killing 72 people.
