What was claimed
An image shows the union flag flying at half-mast over Buckingham Palace.
Our verdict
False. This image was taken on 8 September 2022, and shows the flag at half-mast over Buckingham Palace following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
Image of union flag at half-mast over Buckingham Palace was taken following the death of the Queen
19 March 2024
Following various rumours surrounding the health of senior members of the Royal Family, a number of posts on social media have claimed this week that the union flag has been seen flying at half-mast over Buckingham Palace.
Some of these posts have either directly suggested or implied that this is due to the death of King Charles III or the Princess of Wales. Both have been seen in public in recent days.
The image in the posts was actually taken on 8 September 2022, and shows the union flag at half-mast over Buckingham Palace following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
It was shared on X (formerly Twitter) by Al Jazeera news correspondent Rory Challands shortly after the announcement of the Queen’s death.
Flying a flag at half-mast is often used as a gesture of mourning by governments in the UK and around the world.
Buckingham Palace has not made any statement on the health of the King since confirming on 5 February that he had been diagnosed with “a form of cancer”, while Kensington Palace has said the Princess of Wales is “doing well” following planned abdominal surgery in January.
It’s always worth checking whether an image or video actually shows what it claims to before sharing it online—for tips on how to do this you can read our guides on how to identify misleading images and videos.
Image courtesy of dgw_unsplash
This article is part of our work fact checking potentially false pictures, videos and stories on Facebook. You can read more about this—and find out how to report Facebook content—here. For the purposes of that scheme, we’ve rated this claim as false because the image was taken on 8 September 2022, not in March 2024.