At least three troops have fainted in the scorching heat during a royal military parade on Saturday – with Prince William acknowledging the “difficult conditions”.
It happened as temperatures hit 30C (86F) in the UK for the first time this year – 30.5C was recorded at Heathrow, the Met Office later confirmed.
According to the Met Office, the 30-degree mark is the earliest reached in England in nearly two decades.
The Prince of Wales, who led the Colonel’s Review at Horse Guards Parade in Central London, paid tribute to soldiers on social media.
In a tweet, he said: “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.”
Photos of the troops showed one being taken away on a stretcher by a medical team.
During the Colonel’s Review, there were reportedly more than 1,400 soldiers and 200 horses from the Household Division of Welsh, Irish, Scottish, Grenadier and Coldstream Guards paraded for inspection by Prince William during the rehearsal.
It was held ahead of the Trooping the Colour parade, which takes place next Saturday.
The ceremony involved horses and soldiers carrying out complex battlefield drill manoeuvres to military music.
Ahead of the scorching weekend, the Met Office issued its first heat-alert across much of England.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has issued an amber heat-health alert for hot weather until 9am on Tuesday in the West Midlands, East Midlands, East of England, South East and South West.
This means that the impact of the heat is “likely to be felt across the whole health service… and the wider population, not just the most vulnerable”.
Around 11am on Saturday, Kew Gardens, Heathrow, East Sussex and Surrey saw temperatures peak around 30C.
Forecasters said the rising temperatures could she the hottest day of 2023 so far, but some parts of the country may also face torrential rain, hail and gusty winds.
It’s not all sunny spells, as a yellow thunderstorm warning has been put out for some parts of the UK this afternoon by the Met Office.
