Washington was supposed to roll out the red carpet for King Charles III. Instead, it briefly hoisted the wrong country's flag. Photos circulating on X on Friday showed Australian flags — not the Union Jack — lining 17th Street near the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, just days before the King and Queen Camilla are due to arrive in the American capital. The flags had been put up by public works crews preparing the city for the first state visit by a British monarch since May 2007, when Queen Elizabeth II was hosted by President George W. Bush. The blunder was quickly spotted by passersby, with photos spreading rapidly across X within hours of appearing.
A Department of Transportation official moved fast to contain it. 'We posted those flags, but it was quickly rectified, and we were able to remove them,' the official told The Washington Examiner. A review into exactly how the mix-up happened is reportedly underway, with officials noting flags are typically stored and clearly labelled.
