King Charles III's US Visit Marred by Upside-Down Union Flag at Arlington

Key facts

• A U.S. service member held the Union flag upside down during King Charles III's visit to Arlington National Cemetery on Thursday.
• The flag error followed a previous blunder where Australian flags were mistakenly hung near the White House.
• Monica Crowley, Trump's chief of protocol, faced criticism for failing to curtsey to the King upon his arrival.
• King Charles addressed a joint session of Congress, receiving bipartisan applause for remarks on NATO, Ukraine, and environmental preservation.
• President Trump referred to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's policies as 'insane' in a Sky News interview.
• Peter Mandelson, the former U.S. Ambassador, was recalled amid revelations of ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
• Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the King's brother, was arrested on suspicion of passing confidential briefings to Epstein.
• The King's visit was framed around themes of 'reconciliation and renewal' despite strains in the 'special relationship.'

A Final-Day Blunder at Arlington

King Charles III’s final day in the United States was supposed to be a polished send-off—but instead turned into yet another cringe-inducing blunder for the White House. After Charles and Queen Camilla arrived at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia on Thursday, they were flanked by U.S. service members for the ceremonial walk. There was just one problem: A servicemember standing directly behind them was holding the Union flag upside down. That sloppy mistake quickly pulled focus from Charles—and turned attention squarely onto the administration’s shaky execution of the four-day visit. Sky News reporter Mark Stone wrote on X, 'Rather a diplomatic gaff by the Americans here. The Union flag is upside down at the Arlington Cemetery event.' Social media users quickly joined the pile-on with a mix of confusion and outrage at the glaring display.

A Pattern of Protocol Breaches

Critics zeroed in on Monica Crowley, 57, President Donald Trump’s chief of protocol, accusing the former political commentator of botching the high-profile event and turning the visit into a 'fiasco.' Crowley had already drawn heat earlier in the trip after being the only one to fail to curtsey to Charles upon his arrival—a perceived breach of royal etiquette that set the tone for what became a string of awkward missteps. One user on social media joked, 'At least it’s the right flag that’s upside down and not Australians,' referencing a previous blunder in Washington, D.C., where officials mistakenly displayed 15 Australian flags alongside British ones. Others framed the latest mishap as part of a broader pattern of administrative carelessness.

Political Strains Beneath the Ceremony

The themes of 'reconciliation and renewal' had been heavily teased in advance of the visit, but the 'special relationship' was in free fall. Trump, when asked about the relationship last week, replied, 'With who?' A British journalist described witnessing 'the strange, ongoing U.K.-U.S. meltdown.' The tensions were compounded by the recall of Britain’s most recent U.S. Ambassador, Peter Mandelson, amid new revelations regarding his close ties to Jeffrey Epstein, and the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the King’s younger brother, under suspicion of passing confidential briefings to Epstein while serving as a U.K. trade envoy. Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s lack of enthusiasm for Trump’s war with Iran led the President to refer to him as Neville Chamberlain. In an interview with Sky News, Trump denigrated Starmer, whose policies he characterized as 'insane,' and said his political future depended on cracking down on immigration. Charles, meanwhile, was a 'great gentleman.'

The King's Address to Congress

A few hours after the South Lawn ceremony, the King travelled to the Capitol to give a joint address to Congress. He entered the chamber to a long standing ovation. Nearly all the members stood to cheer for Charles’s lines about the Founding Fathers—'bold and imaginative rebels with a cause'—and the Magna Carta, which decreed that 'the executive branch be subject to checks and balances.' He spoke of shared values, and in support of Ukraine, NATO, and environmental preservation; most of the chamber applauded for all of these, though there were exceptions, such as Congresswoman Lauren Boebert, who threw her hands up in annoyance at the mention of Ukraine. A Democratic congressman texted a reporter, 'He spoke of our values and our common history and all those good things. I wish Trump could think the same way.' A political editor at a British outlet was more cynical, saying Charles had used 'woke diversity language in order to win over ‘No Kings’ Democrats.'

Trump's 'Blood and Soil' Rhetoric

Trump’s speech on the South Lawn went beyond the usual pomp and circumstance. 'For nearly two centuries before the Revolution, this land was settled and forged by men, women, who bore in their souls the blood and noble spirit of the British,' Trump said. 'Their veins ran with Anglo-Saxon courage, their hearts beat with an English faith.' This heritage, he said, was the foundation of liberty. 'In recent years, we’ve often heard it said that America is merely an idea. But the cause of freedom did not simply appear as an intellectual invention of 1776.' A senior Administration official reacting to the speech told a reporter that 'republican ideas and Anglo-Saxon heritage are inextricable.' Another reporter said that Steve Bannon had sent him a text after the speech: 'blood and soil—epic.' The contrast with the King, who talked about 'values, rather than heritage,' couldn’t have been more stark.

A State Dinner and a Toast to Reconciliation

At the White House, a state dinner had begun. 'He got the Democrats to stand,' Trump said, of Charles’s speech in Congress. 'I’ve never been able to do that.' Charles toasted Trump’s ballroom, saying, 'I am sorry to say that we British, of course, made our own attempt at real-estate redevelopment of the White House in 1814,' referring to when they set it on fire. 'The story of Britain and America,' he said, 'is one of reconciliation.' The dinner, hosted by first lady Melania Trump, had already sparked its own round of criticism. The visit, which included a garden tea at the British Embassy where members of Trump’s Cabinet joined the receiving line for the King, was seen by some as more significant to Washington than to Westminster, where the press was more fixated on using the previous U.S. Ambassador to bring down the Prime Minister.

A Visit Defined by Missteps and Mixed Messages

The royal visit to Washington, in celebration of America’s semiquincentennial, was planned long before the 2024 Presidential election outcome was known. From the outset, it was marked by errors: maintenance crews adorned lampposts near the White House with the Union Jack—except they actually got it wrong and hung the Australian flag. The error, as the Transportation Secretary’s office put it, was soon rectified. When King Charles and Queen Camilla landed on Monday, they were received by President Trump and the First Lady in the West Wing for tea and a tour of the White House’s new beehives; a bee landed on Trump’s outstretched palm, which he displayed for the royal couple and Melania. The next morning, during the welcome ceremony, occasional banging and clanging from Trump’s ballroom-construction project was audible whenever the music stopped; a crane hovered above, and the U.K. press pool joked that its operators had the best view. Charles gently referred to the gaping hole where the East Wing once stood as Trump's 'readjustment.'

The bottom line

• The upside-down Union flag at Arlington was the latest in a series of protocol errors during King Charles III's U.S. visit.
• Monica Crowley, the chief of protocol, faced criticism for failing to curtsey to the King and for overall poor execution.
• Political tensions between the U.S. and U.K. were evident, with Trump criticizing Prime Minister Starmer and the 'special relationship' under strain.
• King Charles's address to Congress received bipartisan applause for its support of NATO, Ukraine, and environmental issues.
• Trump's South Lawn speech emphasized Anglo-Saxon heritage, drawing praise from right-wing figures like Steve Bannon.
• The visit highlighted a divide: Washington embraced the monarchy, while Westminster focused on domestic scandals involving the Epstein affair.