Royal guards collapse in blistering summer heat at rehearsals

At least three British royal guards collapsed on Saturday (June 10) during a parade rehearsal in London ahead of King Charles' official birthday as summer temperatures hit year-long highs, reaching past 31°C.

One guard was escorted off the square while two others needed to be carried away on stretchers.

The procession at Horse Guards Parade, named Colonel's Review, is the final evaluation before it gets showcased before the King during the Trooping of the Colour on June 17.

Prince William, who was carrying out the inspection, relayed his appreciation to the participants on Twitter.

"A big thank you to every solider (sic) 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.

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[ammybj]

Watching a man die just to keep some old tradition is sickening

[goemon]

What if the guy had a heart attack and needed CPR? Every second counts and no one around him could even check if he had a pulse?

[alysonferreira]

Absolutely ridiculous not to obey health and safety rules and let these poor soldiers suffer with heat exhaustion!

[thechariotcard]

Outrageous! The band plays on, while one of their colleagues lays in a heap!

[ddwsoeh]

Are you serious? So, this man is on the ground and those around him don't do anything? This to show your just a number in this world.

[KLO-KLO..]

Sorry but them uniforms are cruel in that heat 🫶💓🙏

[markoc]

The lack of response from the soldiers around their fallen comrade is sickening

[sarahgracetruth]

They could at least give them summer uniforms w short sleeves and w/o the stupid hats😂

[jlc]

With the wisdom people have, they still insist on doing things that are harmful... common sense is still overlooked and treated as foolishness.

[Rakkasan-vrxt]

Happens to us also during Change of Command ceremonies all the time. Don’t lock your knees

[TheMaddog]

Poor man it's too hot for that hope his ok

[Horizon]

What's the point of full dress uniform when the temp is above 25 C, they should be in #6 - Warm Weather Parade gear. Why do they torture the troops like this every year?

[KazimierzSurma]

He collapsed and nobody is going to help him. The show is more important than the life of a man. Even when later the rescue team comes on the scene it still must be a part of the show. Exactly like in Ukraine. People are dying but the show must go on. 🤣🤣🤣

[thechariotcard]

As I think of it… This thing pretty much characterizes, Charles and Camilla… Focused on themselves and not on the people around them. Focused on procedure and process and not the human elements. Focused on ritual and costume instead of. The service being given through the music.

[TheDrAstrov]

Circus with horses and a golden carriage

[akos]

Why don't they put some cool pad in the hats? Instead, these men suffer relentless heat each year. 😢

[Alte.Kameraden]

Should make it mandatory to drink a liter of water on an empty stomach before matching out. Where I've worked we've had people passed out before because it can hit 90-100+ f in the building during summer. Almost always came down to the person didn't drink enough water. Basically they will sweat a lot in those uniforms, if they run too low on water they will pass out. To avoid this they need to ensure they stockpile enough water to hold out for their performance. Perhaps even have water breaks, I'm pretty sure people would understand. Better than risking health, or death.

[hmq]

Stiff upper lip. Carry on old boy ✌️🇬🇧

[paulbryant]

The dedication of these soldiers cant be faulted

[chrisclark]

I hope they're OK of course, but it's a very British thing to refer to 23 degrees as "Blistering heat".