LONDON, June 14, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - A minute's silence for victims of the Air 
India plane disaster was observed on Saturday at King Charles III's birthday 
parade, where some senior members of the royal family also wore black arm 
bands.

The king, 76, requested amendments to the parade, known as the 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.

Some 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 on take-off from Ahmedabad in eastern India.

The victims included 52 Britons. A sole survivor has been named as British 
man Vishwash Kumar Ramesh from the central 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 spectacle.

Charles, who is still undergoing weekly treatment for an unspecified cancer, 
was accompanied by Queen Camilla.

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.
- No Harry -

Catherine, 43, whose formal title is Princess of Wales, has also faced her 
own cancer battle.

She announced that she had also been diagnosed with an unspecified cancer in 
March 2024 just weeks after Charles revealed his own diagnosis.

The princess said in January 2025 that she was "in remission" and she has 
since made a partial return to public life.

Not present at Saturday's parade, however, were Charles's estranged younger 
son Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, who stepped down from royal family 
duties in 2020, and moved to the United States.

Harry's fraught ties with his family have worsened since he and Meghan made 
various public allegations against the royals.

Harry and his brother William are said to be barely on speaking terms, 
according to UK media.

Although the Trooping of the Colour takes place in June, the king was 
actually born in November.

The second birthday tradition dates back to 1748, when King George II wanted 
to have a celebration in better weather than at his own birthday, which was 
in October.

The parade comes on the same day that US President Donald Trump presides over 
a huge military parade in Washington on his 79th birthday.