Why the US is lowering flags for Queen Elizabeth

If you walk by a federal government building between now and next Monday evening, you’ll see U.S. flags flying at half-staff to honor Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s longest-serving monarch who passed away on Thursday at the age of 96.

Presidents regularly order flags to be flown at half-staff to mark certain holidays and the mourning of government officials, but President Biden last week made the rare move of bestowing the honor upon a foreign dignitary. 

Biden’s order prescribes flags to be flown at half-staff until sunset on the day of the queen’s interment, which is scheduled for next Monday. Biden will also attend Elizabeth’s funeral in London.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) gave a similar order for flags at the Capitol. Drew Hammill, Pelosi’s deputy chief of staff, tweeted that the House on Tuesday will also pass a bereavement resolution for the queen before adjourning for the day in her honor.

The announcement was met with criticism from some Twitter users, who noted the U.S. was founded out of a war with Britain.

“Good lord man, did we not fight the American Revolution?” one user wrote.

“The House did the same for her father King George VI in 1952. This is precedent,” Hammill responded to another user.

Biden’s decision to lower flags for a foreign leader is rare, although his order has precedent for prominent global leaders like the queen. But the 12-day period is longer than when orders were given to honor recent foreign dignitaries.

Biden previously gave the honor to Shinzo Abe, Japan’s longest-serving prime minister who was assassinated in July, and past presidents have ordered flags to half-staff a handful of times over the years for foreign dignitaries.

But the honor is more often reserved for domestic officials who die.

The U.S. Flag Code lays out the circumstances in which flags should be flown at half-staff, although the president is authorized to change any of the rules if they feel it is appropriate. 

The Flag Code states the American flag should be flown at half-staff on Memorial Day until noon and for the full day on Peace Officers Memorial Day, unless the holiday coincides with Armed Forces Day.

It also indicates flags are to be flown at half-staff for 30 days following the death of a current or former president and 10 days following the death of the sitting vice president, current or retired Supreme Court chief justice or the sitting House Speaker.

American flags should also be flown at half-staff until interment for sitting associate justices of the Supreme Court, secretaries of federal departments, governors and former vice presidents. When a sitting member of Congress dies, flags should be at half-staff on the day of death and the following day.

For foreign officials, the Flag Code leaves the decision up to the president.

“In the event of the death of other officials or foreign dignitaries, the flag is to be displayed at half-staff according to Presidential instructions or orders, or in accordance with recognized customs or practices not inconsistent with law,” the code states.

Past presidents have given the honor to prominent global leaders upon their death.

Former President Obama ordered U.S. flags to half-staff following the deaths of Shimon Peres, Israel’s former prime minister and president who died in 2016, and Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s first post-apartheid president who died in 2013. 

The honor was also bestowed upon the deaths of Pope John Paul II in 2005 and Jordan’s King Hussein in 1999.

Presidents have also on occasion lowered flags to half-staff upon the assassinations of foreign leaders. 

Biden did so for Abe, who was shot and killed in Japan during a campaign event in July. Former President Clinton ordered the honor for former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, who was assassinated in 1995, and former President Reagan did so for former Egyptian President Anwar Sadat in 1981.

Flags will fly at half-staff for the queen for a total of 12 days, a period far longer than any of the other foreign leaders honored in recent decades.

But the length is largely due to Britain’s 10-day mourning period. Biden’s order spans from the day of Elizabeth’s death until sunset on the day of her interment, scheduled for next Monday. 

Except for Biden’s honoring of Abe and the two foreign leaders honored by Obama, presidents have typically ordered flags to half-staff until the leaders’ interments. The half-staff period lasted for a single-digit number of days in all of those instances.