Queen Elizabeth Shockingly Broke Royal Protocol Following Princess Diana’s Death

Queen Elizabeth II shocked the people when she broke a royal protocol following Princess Diana’s death.

The nation grieved when the Princess of Wales died in a fatal car crash. The Queen faced the dilemma of responding to the public feeling while protecting young Prince William and Prince Harry. This led to Her Majesty breaking a royal protocol which made the public outside Buckingham Palace wonder why the palace’s world-famous flag was not on display.

“The Royal Standard is only ever flies when the monarch is in residence, and it never flies at half-mast because technically the country is ever without a monarch – a fact expressed in the age-old saying, ‘The King is dead long live the King’,” Penny Junor wrote in “The Duchess: The Untold Story.”

“Therefore, while every other flag in Britain was lowered, there was no flag flying at Buckingham palace,” she continued.

Junor felt that it was symbolic because the monarchy was seen as “stiff, hidebound and out-of-touch.”

“Compared with everything that was so perfect about Diana, who was warm, compassionate and loving,” Junor added.

Queen Elizabeth II also ordered a break with protocol when she asked the Union Flag to be flown at half-mast over the Palace on Princess Diana’s funeral. Since the People’s Princess death, the Union Flag flies from the palace when the Queen is not in residence and has flown at half-mast upon the deaths of the members of the royal family.

Another protocol that the royals broke was when Prince William and Prince Harry were allowed to fly together from Balmoral to London for Princess Diana’s funeral. According to Katie Nicholl in her 2010 biography “William and Harry,” it was a “breach of royal protocol” because normally Prince Charles, Prince Harry and Prince William are not allowed to fly together. The rule is that no two heirs should travel on the same flight to protect the lineage in case of a crash.

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles were both given real-time updates about Princess Diana following her accident. However, due to their distant relationship, the mother and son just stood feet away in separate rooms and never really comforted each other.