Date: 2025-08-20 Page is: DBtxt003.php txt00028687
UK TRADITION
KING'S BIRTHDAY
Why King Charles Wore a Black Armband
on His Uniform at Trooping the Colour
The monarch, 76, led a moment of silence and changed
his uniform to pay tribute at the centuries-old parade
KING'S BIRTHDAY
Why King Charles Wore a Black Armband
on His Uniform at Trooping the Colour
The monarch, 76, led a moment of silence and changed
his uniform to pay tribute at the centuries-old parade
Original article: https://people.com/why-king-charles-wore-black-armband-uniform-trooping-the-colour-2025-11751095
The monarch, 76, led a moment of silence and changed his uniform to pay tribute at the centuries-old parade
Written by Greta Bjornson and Janine Henni
Greta Bjornson is a staff editor at PEOPLE.
Updated on June 14, 2025 09:04AM EDT
- King Charles added a black armband to his Trooping the Colour uniform to honor the victims of the Air India plane crash on June 12
- A moment of silence was also incorporated into the program at Horse Guards Parade
- A Buckingham Palace spokesperson tells people the adjustments were added 'a mark of respect for the lives lost, the families in mourning and all the communities affected by this awful tragedy'
The gesture, seen during the royal procession on June 14, honored the victims of the London-bound Air India plane crash that occurred just two days earlier on June 12.
Buckingham Palace announced the uniform change the day before the King’s official birthday celebration, explaining that the black armband would be worn by the monarch, Prince William, Royal Mews staff in livery, and mounted officers participating in the parade.
The tribute extended beyond dress. After King Charles inspected the troops and took his place on the dais at Horse Guards Parade, a moment of silence was observed before the sounding of the Last Post — a moving addition to the historic military ceremony.
The adjustments were added '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 told PEOPLE.
On June 12, an Air India flight heading to London's Gatwick Airport crashed minutes after takeoff in Ahmedabad in western India. CNN said that at least 290 people have now been pronounced dead, with a sole survivor (identified as a British national) saying he doesn't know 'how' he survived.
King Charles III at Horse Guards Parade during Trooping The Colour 2025 King Charles at Trooping the Colour on June 14, 2025. John Phillips/Getty
The King released a statement shortly after the crash to express his sympathies and the changes to the Trooping programming were announced a day later.
The royal family has previously shifted things at Trooping to honor victims following tragedy, and a minute of silence was incorporated into the parade following the Grenfell Tower fire disaster in London in 2017
The King is being celebrated at Trooping the Colour, which honors the monarch's birthday each year. While the celebration is taking place on Saturday, June 14, the King won't actually mark his 77th birthday until Nov. 14.
King Charles III arrives for the Trooping the Colour ceremony at Horse Guards Parade King Charles at Trooping the Colour on June 14, 2025. Jonathan Brady/PA Images via Getty
The five regiments of the Foot Guards rotate who presents their flag at Trooping the Colour each year, and the Coldstream Guards will have the honor at this year's celebration. The oldest serving regiment in the British Army and part of the Household Division, the Coldstream Guards are tasked with protecting the monarchy. They are also a military unit of which the King is Colonel-in-Chief, giving him an extra special role in this year's event.
More than 1,300 soldiers of the Household Division and King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery are participating in this year's Trooping the Colour, which will also feature 300-plus musicians from the Massed Bands and 250 soldiers from the Foot Guards, according to the King's Birthday Parade website.
The festive celebration dates back to a different King Charles: King Charles II, who ruled from 1660 to 1685. In 1978, the parade was officially designated as the birthday celebration of the sovereign, and began to take place every year after George III took the throne in 1760.
King Charles III salutes at Horse Guards Parade during Trooping The Colour 2025 King Charles at Trooping the Colour on June 14, 2025. John Phillips/Getty
The move brought back a tradition last carried out by his mother, Queen Elizabeth. The late monarch rode on her horse Burmese during Trooping the Colour in 1986, after which she arrived by carriage.
In 2024, amid his cancer diagnosis and treatment, King Charles took part in the festivities in a horse-drawn carriage rather than riding on horseback. He opted to ride in a coach again this year for his third Trooping the Colour as monarch. Britain's King Charles III salutes next to Britain's Queen Camilla as they arrive to Horse Guards Parade for the King's Birthday Parade, 'Trooping the Colour', in London Queen Camilla and King Charles at Trooping the Colour on June 14, 2025. BENJAMIN CREMEL/AFP via Getty
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King Charles attended his first-ever Trooping the Colour in 1951 when he was just three years old. That year, the ceremony was in celebration of his grandfather, King George VI.
At the time, Charles arrived in a carriage with his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, and his aunt, Princess Margaret, while Queen Elizabeth rode horseback in the procession.
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