Following the death of President Nelson Mandela on Thursday 5th December, No.10 has announced that flags are to be flown at half mast on Friday 6th December. If normal protocol is followed flags should also be at half-mast on the day of his funeral. The South African flag can be flown at half-mast alongside the Union and other British national flags on both occasions, but the flags of other nations should be removed. Civic flags can also be flown at half-mast, but should be to the right of the South AFrican flag, if it is being flown.
Further guidance on half-masting, and the order to fly flags in, can be found in the Flag Institute’s publication Flying Flags in the United Kingdom.
This information will be updated should any changes occur.
As in today’s instance (marking the death of Nelson Mandela) is it right for a local Council to fly just the South African flag at half mast on one of a pair of close flagstaffs and leave the other one empty? Should the Union flag have been flown on the other staff and, if so, should it have been at full or half mast? It is not clear from your handbook.
Thanks 😉
If there are two (or more) poles, both the Union Flag and the South African flags should be flown, with the Union on the left and both at half-mast. If there is only one flag I think it is acceptable to fly either flag at half-mast. If any other flags are being flown on the same stand, such as county or company flags, these should also be at half-mast, or not flown at all.
Quote from BBC article:
“The Foreign Office said it has requested that all UK national flags across the country be flown at half-mast until 20:00 GMT on Thursday.”
Does this mean from this morning (Friday) until 2000 next Thursday, or does it mean on the day itself?
Thanks!
I think this is a misunderstanding by the BBC. I have spoken to the Foreign Office and they have confirmed that they are only issuing instructions to British overseas missions (embassies and high commissions) and that those instructions only refer to today (Friday 6th Dec). It may be that later today we will hear from No.10 that flags will fly at half-mast for longer, and if so we will report it on this page.
I am a South African, deeply touched by the passing of our hero!
To me, the national flag draping the coffin was upside down! or inside out if you like.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but flags are normally depicted from left to right. i.e. the staff would be on the left of the picture.
The black triangle of our flag is closest to the staff (left)with the red quarter on top and the blue at the bottom.
Looking at the coffin, the black was at the head and the red on the viewer’s left!
Mistake?
I’m a little behind the times on this thread but I’m glad I’m not the only one who thought the flag was draped incorrectly. I would’ve thought a state funeral of such an esteemed figure would encourage the authorities to make sure everything was perfect. Alas they stumbled at the first hurdle of hiring of a qualified sign language interpreter so the draping of the coffin was probably a 50:50 chance of getting it correct.