Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Gardiner of Kimble on 5 February (HL4556), whether flags on Government buildings are flown at half-mast following the deaths of democratically elected heads of state, or of other heads of state; if not, why not; and whether the definition of monarch used for the death of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia applies to all monarchs around the world.

The decision to fly Union flags on Government buildings at half-mast following the death of a democratically elected head of state, or of other heads of state, is made on a case by case basis. I refer the noble Lord to the answer I gave on 5 February, to Lord Gardiner’s question HL4556, that in line with long-standing arrangements, the Union Flag is flown at half-mast on Government buildings following the death of foreign monarchs. This definition applies to current ruling Monarchs only.