London: Three soldiers fainted on Saturday, which has been recorded as the hottest day of the year in the UK as the country scorched under sweltering 30°C heat during the final Trooping the Colour rehearsal in front of Prince William, British media reported.
The soldiers were wearing woollen tunics and bearskin hats in the 'sauna'-like conditions on the day. The incident was highlighted by Prince William in a tweet. He wrote, "A big thank you to every soldier 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"
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In the next tweet, he wrote, "The hard work and preparation that goes into an event like this is a credit to all involved, especially in today's conditions." Thousands thronged the St James’s Park to get a glimpse of the parade ahead of Trooping the Colour during the King’s Birthday Parade next week. The colourful event also involved hundreds of horses and soldiers carrying out complex battlefield drill manoeuvres to military music. Soon three soldiers fainted and were carried away on stretchers while two more were helped off the parade ground.
James Calford, 18, a soldier from Cardiff, who was the youngest in the Welsh Guards which took part, described the rehearsal as 'like being stood in a sauna with a 200kg dumbbell in your left hand'.The incident has raised questions about the soldiers' rationale for wearing woollen tunics and bearskin hats in the 'sauna'-like conditions. Scores of Britons expressed their objections over the 'protocol' that 'challenged' soldiers' health.
