Final answer:
The appropriate preposition to fill in the blank is 'Despite,' indicating that the speaker was late to the parade even though there was a delay that could have been an excuse for their tardiness.
Step-by-step explanation:
The correct preposition to complete the sentence “___ the delay, I was late to the parade.” is “Despite”. When you use “despite” in a sentence, you are indicating that something happened or was the case even though there might have been something that could have prevented it.
In this case, it signifies that the speaker was late to the parade even though there was some sort of delay that could have excused their lateness.
The correct preposition to complete the sentence is 'Due to' the delay, I was late to the parade. 'Due to' is a preposition that is used to indicate the cause or reason for something. In this case, the delay is the reason for the person being late to the parade.