At least three British soldiers on Saturday collapsed in front of Prince William during the final rehearsal for the annual "Trooping the Colour" parade. The soldiers were wearing woollen tunics and bearskin hats as mercury was about to hit 30 degrees Celsius in London on Saturday. A trombonist who fainted, got up again in a bid to continue to play for the rehearsal. The medics rushed in to help him moments later. As per media reports, over 1,400 soldiers of the Household Division and the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery participated in Saturday’s parade and were reviewed by Prince William. Prince William is the honorary Colonel of the Welsh Guards.
The Prince of Wales thanked all the soldiers for participating in the final rehearsal for the annual Trooping the Colour parade in a tweet. Prince William tweeted: “A big thank you to every solider who took part in the Colonel’s Review this morning in the heat. Difficult conditions but you all did a really good job. Thank you. W”
He said in a follow-up tweet: “The hard work and preparation that goes into an event like this is a credit to all involved, especially in today’s conditions”.
Soon after the incident went viral on Twitter, netizens were quick to share their two cents. A user named Robert Evans wrote: “Incredible that these people once ruled India”. Another user said that holding the rehearsal was a “dumb idea” despite the heat warning.
A user called this event “one of the many cult-like demands of the Royal Family circus”. The user wrote: “Pompous nonsense. One more of the many cult-like demands of the Royal Family circus!”
Another user tweeted: "Do you ever think how sad it is that you all justify this revolting self entitlement you have while people go hungry? How do you do it? How do live with yourself and your parades and your jewels. There is nothing decent about any of you. Nothing."
Here are some more Twitter reactions on the event:
Trooping the Colour is an annual military parade held every June to mark the monarch’s official birthday. King Charles III will officially oversee the parade on June 17.
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