King Charles leads minute’s silence for Ahmedabad plane crash victims

Britain’s King Charles III on Saturday, 14 June, led a minute’s silence in memory of the Ahmedabad-London Air India plane crash victims after making last-minute amendments to his annual Trooping the Colour birthday parade. All members of the royal family in uniform sported black armbands commemorating the victims.

Buckingham Palace said the 76-year-old monarch wanted the alterations "as a mark of respect for the lives lost, the families in mourning and all the communities affected by this awful tragedy".

At least 169 Indians and 53 British nationals were travelling in the London-bound Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft, which crashed on 12 June afternoon soon after take-off from the Ahmedabad airport.

The annual Trooping the Colour parade marks King Charles's birthday with over 1,350 troops involved.

In an earlier statement, King Charles had said he and Queen Camilla were “desperately shocked by the terrible events in Ahmedabad”.

"Our special prayers and deepest possible sympathy are with the families and friends of all those affected by this appallingly tragic incident across so many nations, as they await news of their loved ones,” a Buckingham Palace statement noted in the wake of the tragedy.

"I would like to pay a particular tribute to the heroic efforts of the emergency services and all those providing help and support at this most heartbreaking and traumatic time," the statement added.

The amended Trooping the Colour followed the United Kingdom’s flags being flown at half-mast on Friday on all royal residences and government buildings as a mark of respect.