IT WOULD be fair to say that Prince Philip was not very well known to British Asians even though, as the Queen’s consort, he was at the centre of the ruling establishment for more than seven decades.
In marked contrast to his eldest son, Prince Charles, he was not seen at Asian functions.
But Asians have learned a great deal about him since he passed away last Friday (9), just two months short of what would have been his 100th birthday.
From the Asian point of view, it would also not be right to define him solely on the basis of his well-known gaffes. This is because he did touch the lives of British Asians in two ways – one direct and the other much more subtle.
Young Asian men and women have been among the hundreds of thousands who have benefited from the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme which Prince Philip set up in 1956 to “recognise adolescents and young adults for completing a series of self-improvement exercises”.
There are branches all over the world, including one in India.
Among those who credit him for transforming their lives is Serena Gupta, 20, an undergraduate at Warwick University who picked up bronze, silver and bronze badges under the scheme.
By the time she went to Buckingham Palace to collect them, the duke had retired and his youngest son, Prince Edward, was officiating in his place.
The Queen and Prince Philip are welcomed by (from left) Indian vice-president Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, president Rajendra Prasad, Indian high commissioner to the UK, Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, and prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru at Palam Airport in New Delhi on January 21, 1961 (Photo: Punjab/AFP via Getty Images).
Gupta said: “When I did the Duke of Edinburgh award, I took part in a year of volunteering in conservation – it made me really love it. I still volunteer now for English Heritage. I’ve been reading that Prince Philip was the only one who could act normally around the Queen – that makes me really sad that he’s gone.”
British Asians ought to acknowledge that their lives have been enriched immeasurably by living in a politically stable and tolerant country, which has partly resulted from a functioning constitutional monarchy. If the Queen has scarcely put a foot wrong through her long reign, some of the credit must go to her husband who gave her loyal and unquestioning support. Many British Asians have flourished in this country in a way that might not have been possible had they remained either in the Indian subcontinent or in Africa.
No one really knows what the Duke of Edinburgh thought of the big issues of the day, such as Black Lives Matter; a multi-ethnic, multi-religious, multicultural Britain; how schools should teach the Empire or the Partition of India. He clearly made it a point not to speak about them in public.
One of the few Indians who said he got to know the man behind the public image is Lord Indarjit Singh, who said that Prince Philip believed in inter-faith dialogue.
His first trip to India, in 1959, was a solo one. Since he was the Queen’s husband, he was met at the airport by the prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru.
He became a committed conservationist and the first president of the World Wide Fund for Nature in 1961. But that same year he had toured India with the Queen, and controversially shot a tiger while staying with long-time friends, the Maharajah Sawai Man Singh II and Gayatri Devi, the youngest Maharani of Jaipur.
The Windsors and the Jaipurs do go back a long way. Although Indira Gandhi abolished titles, the present Maharajah, Sawai Padmanabh Singh, expressed his sadness at Prince Philip’s passing.
“This is truly the end of an era,” he said. “The royal house of Jaipur has been close to the royal family of Britain for generations. One of my ancestors, the late Maharaja Sawai Madho Singh II of Jaipur, was among the few princes from India invited to attend the coronation of King Edward VII in 1902.”
He recalled: “When Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip made a state visit to India in 1961, they asked to include Jaipur on their itinerary because of their personal equation. Prince Philip was a talented polo player, who has played on the Rambagh polo ground of Jaipur, just as our family has in England each summer.”
Indeed, Prince Philip was passionate about polo. At one game in Windsor, it was Gayatri Devi who presented the winning cup to him. It was her practice to send Prince Philip a box of Alphonso mangoes every summer.
All this is far removed from the world of British Asians, and Prince Philip’s gaffes and indiscretions are well known, of course.
The royal couple at Raj Ghat, the memorial for Mahatma Gandhi, in New Delhi on January 22, 1961 (Photo: Central Press/AFP via Getty Images).
In 1999, when he visited a high-tech electronics factory in Edinburgh and spotted a fuse box with protruding wires, he said the assembly looked “as if it was put in by an Indian”.
When some local Asians failed to share his sense of humour, Buckingham Palace offered an apology: “The Duke of Edinburgh regrets any offence which may have been caused. With hindsight he accepts that what were intended as light-hearted comments were inappropriate.”
When he saw a badge with the name, “Atul Patel” at a Buckingham Palace reception for the British Indian community in 2009, he could not resist a wisecrack: “There’s a lot of your family in tonight.”
That was an odd remark from someone who was himself an immigrant – from a Danish and Greek family with German blood. To his credit, however, he learned to walk behind the Queen and never sought to upstage her.
The TV presenter Andrew Marr angered some viewers who demanded his dismissal because of the way he had discussed the duke with his colleague, Reeta Chakrabarti. Pointing out that Prince Philip followed royal protocol by allowing the Queen to take precedence, Marr quipped: “He was always two steps behind, you know, like an Indian bride, as they say. He was always standing behind.”
India’s prime minister Narendra Modi recognised that Prince Philip was important in the context of UK-India relations. He was also a nephew of Lord Mountbatten, the last viceroy of India.
Modi was one of the first world leaders to pay tribute: “My thoughts are with the British people and the royal family on the passing away of HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. He had a distinguished career in the military and was at the forefront of many community service initiatives. May his soul rest in peace.”
FORMER Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani was believed to be on board the London-bound Air India plane that crashed near the Ahmedabad airport soon after take-off on Thursday (12), a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said.
"Vijay Rupani was going to London by the Air India flight," senior BJP leader Bhupendrasinh Chudasama told reporters in Ahmedabad. "I am going to the city civil hospital to inquire about him," he added.
The plane was headed for Gatwick Airport and the passengers included 217 adults, 11 children and two infants. Air India said 169 were Indian nationals, 53 were Britons, seven Portuguese, and one Canadian.
Rescue workers said at least 30 to 35 bodies had been recovered from the site and that more people were trapped.
Thick black plumes of acrid smoke towered high above Ahmedabad airport on Thursday after the London-bound passenger jet with 242 people aboard crashed shortly after takeoff earlier in the day.
A reporter in the city said the plane crashed in an area between a hospital and the city’s Ghoda Camp neighbourhood.
Passengers included 217 adults, 11 children and two infants (PTI photo)
Authorities said it went down outside the airport perimeter, in a crowded residential area, which local media said included a hostel where medical students and young doctors live.
"When we reached the spot there were several bodies lying around and firefighters were dousing the flames," Poonam Patni told AFP. "Many of the bodies were burned."
Another resident, who declined to be named, said: "We saw people from the building jumping from the second and third floor to save themselves. The plane was in flames.
"We helped people get out of the building and sent the injured to the hospital."
Photographs released by India's Central Industrial Security Force, a paramilitary police force, showed a large chunk of the plane that had smashed through the brick and concrete wall of a building.
Visuals showed people being moved in stretchers and being taken away in ambulances.
"My sister-in-law was going to London. Within an hour, I got news that the plane had crashed," Poonam Patel, a relative of one of the passengers, told news agency ANI at the government hospital in Ahmedabad.
Ramila, the mother of a student at the medical college, told ANI her son had gone to the hostel for his lunch break when the plane crashed. "My son is safe, and I have spoken to him. He jumped from the second floor, so he suffered some injuries," she said.
People stand near the debris of the Air India plane that crashed in Ahmedabad (PTI photo)
Aviation tracking site Flightradar24 said the plane was a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, one of the most modern passenger aircraft in service.
It was the first crash for the Dreamliner, which began flying commercially in 2011, according to the Aviation Safety Network database. The plane that crashed on Thursday flew for the first time in 2013 and was delivered to Air India in January 2014, Flightradar24 said.
Boeing said it was aware of initial reports and was working to gather more information.
Ahmedabad Airport is operated by India's Adani Group conglomerate.
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"We are shocked and deeply saddened by the tragedy of Air India Flight 171," Gautam Adani, founder and chairman of the group, posted on X.
"Our hearts go out to the families who have suffered an unimaginable loss. We are working closely with all authorities and extending full support to the families on the ground," he said.
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Police said they had collected 204 dead bodies (PTI photo)
All 242 passengers on board believed to have been killed in the Air India crash AI-171 in Ahmedabad
Air India passenger hotline numbers - 1800 5691 444 and for foreign nationals +91 8062779200
There were 169 Indian passengers, 53 British, seven Portuguese, and a Canadian on board the flight bound for London Gatwick
Contact @HCI_London on the emergency number 07768765035 with regard to emergency visa assistance to travel to India if needed
POLICE in Ahmedabad said they had collected 204 dead bodies after the London-bound Air India aircraft with 242 people on board crashed into residential buildings after takeoff on Thursday (12).
“We have found 204 bodies,” city police commissioner GS Malik said, adding that 41 injured people were “under treatment”.
The dead included those from the plane crash and from buildings into which the plane smashed.
“Rescue work is ongoing,” he said.
The crash was the first ever for a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, a source familiar with the matter said. Boeing, the American planemaker, said it was ready to support Air India following the crash.
"We are in contact with Air India regarding Flight 171 and stand ready to support them," said a Boeing statement. "Our thoughts are with the passengers, crew, first responders and all affected."
Several videos posted on social media showed the aircraft rapidly losing altitude - with its nose up - before it hit a building and exploded into an orange ball of fire.
Damage at a building after an Air India plane crashed moments after taking off from the airport, in Ahmedabad. (PTI Photo)
Authorities said it went down outside the airport perimeter, in a crowded residential area while a reporter in the city said the plane crashed between a hospital and the city's Ghoda Camp neighbourhood.
A medic described how the burning plane had smashed into a residential block that is home to medical students and young doctors.
"One half of the plane crashed into the residential building where doctors lived with their families," said Krishna, a doctor who gave only one name.
He saw "about 15-20 burnt bodies" in the wreckage and debris.
It was not clear whether the dead he had seen had been killed on board the plane, or had been in the building the aircraft ploughed into.
"The nose and front wheel landed on the canteen building where students were having lunch," he said, adding he and colleagues had "rescued some 15 students from the building and sent them to hospital".
"When we reached the spot there were several bodies lying around and firefighters were dousing the flames," resident Poonam Patni said.
"Many of the bodies were burned", she added.
Another resident, who declined to be named, said: "We saw people from the building jumping from the second and third floor to save themselves. The plane was in flames.
"We helped people get out of the building and sent the injured to the hospital."
Outside Ahmedabad airport, a woman wailing inconsolably in grief said that five of her relatives had been aboard the plane. In a post on social media, former UK prime minister Rishi Sunak, who was recently in Ahmedabad to watch the final of the Indian Premier League, said, “Akshata and I are deeply shocked and distressed by the news of the Air India tragedy.
“There is a unique bond between our two nations and our thoughts and prayers go out to the British and Indian families who have lost loved ones today.”
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Keir Starmer. (Photo by JORDAN PETTITT/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
PRIME MINISTER Keir Starmer on Thursday (12) expressed his anguish following a plane crash involving a London-bound Air India flight with 53 British nationals among 242 on board, shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad airport.
"The scenes emerging of a London-bound plane carrying many British nationals crashing in the Indian city of Ahmedabad are devastating,” Starmer said in a statement.
"I am being kept updated as the situation develops, and my thoughts are with the passengers and their families at this deeply distressing time," he said.
Foreign secretary David Lammy took to social media to express his support to those affected."Deeply saddened by news of a devastating plane crash in Ahmedabad, India. My thoughts are with all those affected.
The UK is working with local authorities in India to urgently establish the facts and provide support,” he said.
People gather near a damaged building and trees as firefighters work at the site where an Air India plane crashed in Ahmedabad, India, June 12, 2025. REUTERS/Amit Dave
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said it was working with local authorities in India to urgently establish the facts and provide support to those involved.
It issued a contact number for consular assistance.“We are aware of a plane crash in Ahmedabad.
The UK is working with local authorities in India to urgently establish the facts and provide support to those involved,” the FCDO’s travel advisory notes.
“British nationals who require consular assistance or have concerns about friends or family should call 020 7008 5000,” it adds.
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Gareth Thomas, MP for Harrow West, said, “I am deeply concerned by the tragic crash of Air India Flight AI171. Harrow is home to a large British-Gujarati community, many of whom have close family ties to Gujarat, and this devastating news will be felt particularly strongly here.
"My thoughts are with all those who have been injured or lost loved ones and I stand ready to support any Harrow residents who are concerned about the wellbeing of their family or friends affected by this tragedy.”
The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, carrying 242 people, was due to land at London Gatwick Airport at 1825 local time. The flight AI171 crashed shortly after takeoff near the Ahmedabad Airport on Thursday.
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FILE PHOTO: Officials inspect the wreckage of an Air India Express jet at Calicut International Airport in Karipur, Kerala, on August 8, 2020. (Photo by ARUNCHANDRA BOSE/AFP via Getty Images)
INDIA has witnessed several major air disasters over the decades, reflecting both the challenges of aviation safety and the complexities of its growing air traffic. While many flights operate safely each day, a few tragic incidents have left lasting impacts on the nation’s aviation history. Below is a list of some of the most significant plane crashes that have occurred in India.
1. Charkhi Dadri mid-air collision (Nov 12, 1996) A Saudi Boeing 747 and a Kazakh IL-76 cargo plane collided mid-air near Delhi due to communication failures. All 349 people on both aircraft died, making it the deadliest air disaster in Indian airspace.
2. Air India Flight 182 (Kanishka bombing) (Jun 2, 1985) The Boeing 747 exploded mid-air over the Atlantic Ocean after a bomb detonated on board. All 329 people were killed in the terrorist attack, which remains the worst aviation-related act of terrorism involving Air India.
3. Air India Flight 855 ("Emperor Ashoka") (Jan 1, 1978) Shortly after take-off from Mumbai, the Boeing 747 crashed into the Arabian Sea due to instrument failure and pilot disorientation. All 213 passengers and crew were killed.
4. Air India Express Flight 812 (May 22, 2010) The aircraft overshot the runway while landing at Mangalore airport and crashed into a valley. 158 of the 166 people on board lost their lives.
5. Air India Express Flight 1344 (Aug 7, 2020) Attempting to land in heavy rain at Kozhikode’s tabletop runway in Kerala, the plane skidded off and broke into pieces. 21 people died, while many others were injured.
6. Indian Airlines Flight 605 (Feb 14, 1990) The Airbus A320 crashed short of the runway while landing at Bengaluru airport. 92 of the 146 people on board were killed.
7. Alliance Air Flight 7412 (Jul 17, 2000) While approaching Patna airport, the plane crashed into a residential area after engine issues and loss of control. 60 people, including some on the ground, died.
8. Air India Flight 403 (Jun 21, 1982) The Boeing 707 crash-landed at Mumbai during a monsoon storm. 17 people were killed in the accident.
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A yellow alert indicates potential increased pressure on health services
The UK is set to experience a combination of hot and humid weather alongside a series of thunderstorms over the next few days, prompting a heat-health alert and multiple weather warnings from the Met Office. Temperatures could reach up to 30°C in some areas, particularly in parts of south-east and central England.
Heat-health alert issued across southern and eastern England
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), in collaboration with the Met Office, has issued a yellow heat-health alert covering the east of England, the East Midlands, London and the South East. The alert will be in place from 9pm on Thursday, 13 June, until 8am on Sunday, 16 June.
Under the UKHSA’s guidance, a yellow alert indicates potential increased pressure on health services, especially due to impacts on vulnerable populations. People over 65 and those with pre-existing health conditions, such as cardiovascular and respiratory illnesses, are particularly at risk. The agency has advised the public to stay hydrated, avoid excess sun exposure during peak hours, and check on elderly neighbours or those with health concerns.
Dr Agostinho Sousa, head of Extreme Events and Health Protection at UKHSA, noted: “Even moderate heat can result in serious health outcomes, especially for older adults. It is important for people to take sensible precautions and remain aware of the forecast. If you have friends, family or neighbours who are more vulnerable, please ensure they are following health guidance.”
Thunderstorm warnings in place through Saturday
Alongside the heat alert, the Met Office has issued several yellow thunderstorm warnings as warm, humid air moves northwards from the Iberian Peninsula.
A yellow warning was issued for the South West of England and Northern Ireland from Thursday until 1pm. Thunderstorms and heavy rain are expected to develop and move north, with the potential for travel disruption. The Met Office warned of difficult driving conditions due to spray, standing water, and possibly hail. Delays to rail and bus services are also possible, with a risk of short-term power outages.
A second yellow thunderstorm warning covers the South East of England from 3pm on Friday to 6am on Saturday. The warning highlights the possibility of sudden flooding, road closures, and the chance that isolated communities could be temporarily cut off by floodwaters. There is also a risk of damage to buildings caused by lightning, hail, strong winds, and fast-flowing floodwater.
“There is a small chance of fast-flowing or deep floodwater causing danger to life,” the Met Office stated.
Weather overview: temperatures climb as storms approach
Temperatures are expected to peak later in the week. Highs of 27°C are forecast on Wednesday, with parts of central and south-east England potentially reaching 30°C on Friday.
Met Office Deputy Chief Meteorologist Mike Silverstone said, “After largely benign weather early in the week, some intense, thundery showers will move in on Wednesday evening. These thunderstorms are being triggered by some warm, humid air that is moving into the UK from the south.”
This warm spell may feel more uncomfortable than May’s fine weather due to increased humidityiStock
Mr Silverstone added that heatwave thresholds could be reached in some regions, including the northwest Midlands, northwest England and northeast Wales. However, he noted that this depends on cloud cover, making it uncertain.
He also pointed out that this warm spell may feel more uncomfortable than May’s fine weather due to increased humidity. “Additionally, while in May the nights were still fairly cool, overnight temperatures this week are forecast to remain fairly warm, which can disrupt people’s sleep,” he said.
Detailed forecast: Wednesday to Sunday
Wednesday: A largely dry and sunny day is expected across much of the UK, especially after morning cloud dissipates in the south. The far northwest of Scotland will remain cloudy with periods of rain. Temperatures will be widely very warm.
By the evening, showers will begin to move into western areas, followed by a more organised band of thundery rain developing overnight. Many areas will experience a warm night.
Thursday: Rain, occasionally heavy, will push north and east across the country throughout the day. Brighter spells may follow in some regions, though scattered showers are also likely. The day will remain warm and increasingly humid, despite breezy conditions.
Friday to Sunday Outlook: The warm and humid conditions will continue on Friday, with another round of heavy and thundery rain forecast, particularly during the afternoon and evening. The weekend will remain unsettled with further spells of rain and showers, although fresher air will gradually begin to spread across the country.
Some western areas could receive between 20-40mm of rain within a few hours on Thursday. The Met Office has indicated that lightning and intense downpours may cause localised flooding and disruption.
Advice for the public
The UKHSA and the Met Office have advised the public to monitor weather updates and follow health and safety guidance during the period of high heat and storm activity. Precautionary measures include:
Staying hydrated and avoiding physical exertion during the hottest part of the day
Using fans or opening windows at night to cool down interiors
Keeping homes shaded during the day
Looking out for vulnerable individuals in the community
With a combination of high temperatures and stormy weather likely to affect travel, health services and daily routines, authorities are urging residents to plan ahead and stay informed.