Britain’s King Charles III salutes as he rides in a carriage along the Mall to take part in Trooping the Color in London. Photo: Alberto Pezzali/AP/dpa
Keystone
The royals in London paid tribute to the victims of the plane crash in India with a minute’s silence at the traditional birthday parade of the British king. Charles III (76), in whose honor the parade known as “Trooping the Colour” is held, wore a black armband. More than 240 passengers, including dozens of Britons, and other people at the crash site died in the accident on Thursday.
Charles and his wife, Queen Camilla (77), had been traveling by carriage, accompanied by hundreds of Guards soldiers, along The Mall from Buckingham Palace to the central parade ground, Horse Guards Parade. Thousands of people lined the route to catch a glimpse of the royal family in the glorious weather.
Kate in a turquoise outfit
The heir to the throne Prince William (42), Charles’ sister Princess Anne (74) and their youngest brother, Prince Edward (61), also wore mourning armbands over their uniforms. They followed the royal couple on horseback. Camilla wore a white costume with a matching hat.
Princess Kate (43), who shared a carriage with her children Prince George (11), Princess Charlotte (10) and Prince Louis (7), appeared in a turquoise outfit with a wide-brimmed hat. She attended the entire event for the first time since she was diagnosed with cancer last year, which should please many Royal fans.
Kate’s brief appearance last year on the balcony of Buckingham Palace was met with great relief. She had previously withdrawn from public life for months due to cancer. Her chemotherapy has now been completed.
King Charles, whose cancer diagnosis was announced only shortly before Kate’s, is still undergoing treatment. However, he quickly returned to his public duties.
Crowning finale is a flyover of the palace
“Trooping the Color” is a military parade that dates back to the 18th century. The term “color” refers to the flag that is presented at the parade.
Each year, a different one of the King’s five Infantry Guards regiments is tasked with this, this year it is the so-called Coldstream Guards.
More than 1,000 soldiers take part in the parade every year – many of them in red parade uniforms with bearskin caps, both on foot and on horseback. There are also military bands and other participants.
Due to the weather, the parade traditionally takes place in June. Charles’ birthday is actually on November 14. At the end, a procession leads back to Buckingham Palace.
The grand finale is the flyover of the palace by dozens of military aircraft. The royals traditionally wave to onlookers from the balcony. This is Charles’ third parade as monarch.
He first took part as a three-year-old in 1951, when his grandfather, George VI, was still king. From 1952 until her death in 2022 at the age of 96, Elizabeth II was British Queen.