King Charles asked the Royal Family to wear black armbands as a mark of respect to the victims of the Air India plane crash. The 76-year-old monarch personally requested a minute’s silence be observed in tribute to the 241 passengers and crew killed, and others affected, when a Boeing 787 Dreamliner bound for Gatwick Airport came down on Thursday in the Indian city of Ahmedabad.
Black armbands were also worn by the head of state and senior royals riding in the ceremony, also known as the King’s Birthday Parade, staged in Horse Guards Parade in Whitehall. On horseback and wearing the armbands will be the Royal Colonels – Prince of Wales, Colonel of the Welsh Guards, the Princess Royal, Colonel Blues and Royals, and the Duke of Edinburgh, Colonel Scots Guards.
Royals in civilian dress will not be required to wear armbands.
A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said the King 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, a decision taken by Queen Elizabeth II.
The King issued a written message soon after the Air India plane crash saying he was “desperately shocked by the terrible events” and expressing his “deepest possible sympathy”.