Buckingham Palace Just Made A Major Move To Mark King Charles' Arrival

Prince Charles was summoned to Balmoral Castle in Scotland on September 8, 2022, and the move increased concern in royal fans over the health of the queen. Prince Charles became King Charles III at Balmoral Castle after the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth. King Charles has now come back to London, and he headed to Buckingham Palace, the official London residence of the monarch.

To show that King Charles had arrived, Buckingham Palace raised the Royal Standard, which only flies if the monarch is there, via NBC News. The Royal Standard is raised to its full height while Union Jack will remain at half mast; Buckingham Palace had lowered the Union Jack upon news of Queen Elizabeth's death, via EuroNews. Upon his arrival, Charles along with Camilla, the Queen Consort spent time speaking with well-wishers and mourners outside of the palace. And in an unofficial confirmation of the new king, Chris Ship, ITV News Royal Editor posted on Twitter the crowd at the palace broke into song at one point, singing the new national anthem "God Save Our Gracious King."

The royal standard is a flag of four sections, which for the queen had two sections that represented England and one each for Scotland and Ireland. That could change with King Charles, one of the sections could represent Wales. There are also flags around the United Kingdom and in commonwealth countries that have EIIR on them — for Elizabeth II Regina — that will need to be updated, according to The Guardian.