Diplomatic blunder on last day of King Charles’ U.S. visit during ceremony at Arlington Cemetery
King Charles III and Queen Camilla concluded their U.S. visit with a ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery, where the Union flag was flown upside down during the event. The error, noted by observers as a diplomatic misstep, occurred despite the otherwise respectful tribute at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Neither the British royals nor U.S. officials made public remarks about the incident.
- ▪The Union flag was flown upside down during King Charles III and Queen Camilla's visit to Arlington National Cemetery.
- ▪Sky News correspondent Mark Stone pointed out the error on social media, calling it a diplomatic gaffe.
- ▪According to the Flag Institute, flying the Union flag upside down is considered improper.
- ▪King Charles laid a wreath and Queen Camilla placed a posy of flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
- ▪The King and Queen were received by U.S. Army Major General Antoinette Gant and U.S. chief of protocol Monica Crowley.
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NewsWorldAmericasUS politicsDiplomatic blunder on last day of King Charles’ U.S. visit during ceremony at Arlington CemeteryThe King has won praise for his trip to the U.S. as he walked a diplomatic tight rope with Donald Trump - but the last day of the trip saw an unintentional mistakeOwen Scott Friday 01 May 2026 15:15 BSTBookmarkCommentsGo to commentsBookmark popoverRemoved from bookmarksClose popover{"translations":{"comments":"Go to comments","share":"Share","copyLink":"Copy link","bookmark":"Bookmark","removeBookmark":"Remove bookmark"},"showComments":true,"showBookmark":true,"articleId":"b2968835","articleMeta":{"url":"https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/king-charles-arlington-cemetery-union-flag-b2968835.html","title":"Diplomatic blunder on last day of…
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