By Enyichukwu Enemanna
British monarch, King Charles III, on Saturday honoured those who died in the Air India plane crash when a minute’s silence was observed for them during his London birthday parade, in which some members of the royal family also wore black armbands.
The King, 76, requested amendments to the parade, known as Trooping the Colour, “as a mark of respect for the lives lost, the families in mourning and all the communities affected by this awful tragedy”, a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said.
A total of 279 people, including passengers, crew and people on the ground, died on Thursday when a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner bound for London’s Gatwick Airport crashed shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad in eastern India.
The victims included 52 British nationals. A sole survivor has been named as British man Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, from the central English city of Leicester.
In a written message after the disaster, Charles said he was “desperately shocked by the terrible events” and expressed his “deepest possible sympathy”.
Trooping the Colour, a minutely choreographed military tradition dating back more than two centuries, marks the British sovereign’s official birthday.
It starts at Buckingham Palace and moves down The Mall to Horse Guards Parade, where Charles receives a royal salute before inspecting soldiers.
Hundreds of people gathered outside the palace and along The Mall to watch the parade.
They included a small group of anti-monarchist protesters with yellow placards reading “Not my King” and “Down with the Crown”.
Charles, who is still undergoing weekly treatment for an unspecified cancer, was accompanied by Queen Camilla for the parade.
Also present were heir Prince William, 42, his wife Catherine, also known as Kate, and their three children: George, 11, Charlotte, 10, and Louis, seven.
