King Charles III and other members of the royal family in uniform wore black armbands and observed a moment of silence during his annual birthday parade on Saturday to commemorate those who died in this week’s Air India plane crash.
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The king requested the symbolic moves “as a mark of respect for the lives lost, the families in mourning and all the communities affected by this awful tragedy,” Buckingham Palace said.
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An Air India flight from the northwestern city of Ahmedabad to London crashed shortly after takeoff on Thursday, killing 241 people on board and at least 29 on the ground. The plane was carrying 169 Indians, 53 Britons, seven Portuguese and one Canadian. One man survived.
The monarch’s annual birthday parade, known as Trooping the Colour, is a historic ceremony filled with pageantry and military bands in which the king reviews his troops on Horse Guards Parade adjacent to St. James’ Park in central London.
The military ceremony dates back to a time when flags of the battalion, known as colours, were “trooped,” or shown, to soldiers in the ranks so they could recognize them.
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Charles’ mother, Queen Elizabeth II, held a similar moment of silence in 2017 when Trooping the Colour took place three days after a fire ripped through the Grenfell Tower apartment block in west London, killing 72 people.
David Beckham, Gary Oldman, others honored by Charles
Former England soccer star David Beckham, Oscar-winning actor Gary Oldman and renowned musicals singer Elaine Paige were among the celebrities and public figures who were honored by King Charles III ahead of the Trooping of Colour festivities.
Beckham, Goldman and the Who’s frontman, Roger Daltrey, were knighted by the king, while Paige, Brooker Prize-winning novelist Pat Barker and former Conservative government minister Penny Mordaunt were given damehoods, the female equivalent of a knighthood.
The honors, which aim to reward individuals for their contributions to British life, are awarded twice a year to celebrities and public figures as well as ordinary people: Once at New Year’s, and then in June to mark the king’s birthday.
The winners are chosen by civil servants’ committees based on nominations from the government and the public. The awards are usually given out by the king or a senior royal acting in his place at Buckingham Palace.
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“Growing up in east London with parents and grandparents who were so patriotic and proud to be British, I never could have imagined I would receive such a truly humbling honor,” said Beckham, who was knighted for his services to sport and to charity for his partnerships with UNICEF and the U.N.’s children’s fund.
Daltrey, recognized for services to charity as well as music, has been a patron of “Teenage Cancer Trust” since 2000. He said he was humbled by the award.
“It’s a dream come true for me, but it’s especially a dream because the charity means so much,” he said.
Paige said she is proud, grateful, thrilled and surprised by the honor.
“I’ve got all these different emotions coming at me all at once,” she said.