A Period of Mourning – Paused.

Protocol dictates that during a period of mourning, flags fly at half-staff. (Half-staff is the precise term, as half-mast applies to flags at sea.) 

However, with this morning’s historic Accession Council at St. James’ Palace where the new King, His Majesty Charles III was formally proclaimed with the reading of the Principal Proclamation by the Garter King of Arms, Union Flags have now been raised to full-staff in recognition of the accession of the new King.

They shall be flown as such for the next 26 hours during which time similar proclamations will be made in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. The same will hold true for The King’s realsm within the Commonwealth, including Canada and Australia. They will all then return to half-staff and remain there until 8:00am BST on September 20, 2022, the day after the funeral for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

Many have asked, why did the Accession Council ceremony take place in such a small building, rather than the larger Buckingham Palace. St. James’ Palace has and continues to hold an important place in the storied history of protocol and diplomacy in the United Kingdom. Dating back to the time of His Majesty King Henry VIII, St. James’ Palace has and continues to be known as the official Royal Court for the Diplomatic Corps, and why we don’t say Ambassador to the United Kingdom, but rather Ambassador to the Court of St. James.

#ThatProtocolGuy #ProtocolMatters #GodSavetheKing