The meaning of the black flag used at a British Royal Guard event

There has been some controversy in the United Kingdom recently over the use of its historic flags, even in the British Army.

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Most of these controversies are related to the criticisms that some, in the name of political correctness, make against the English flag (the St. George's Cross, a red cross on a white background) and even against the Union Jack, the flag of the United Kingdom.

That controversy has sparked another one online these days. On August 28, the popular British channel King's Guard Tours published a video of a rehearsal for the Changing of the Guard by the Household Division (the name given to the unit responsible for ensuring the security of the British Royal Family). The title of the video drew attention to the black flag used in this act:

This flag makes its appearance in the video at 8:00. An officer brings it from inside the building and hands it to another officer without any ceremony. As this is training, the royal guards do not wear their traditional uniforms of red coats and black trousers, although they do wear their characteristic "bearskins" hats and carry SA-80 rifles. The soldiers wear the British Army No. 13 uniform, known as "Barrack Dress", with round-neck sweaters.

Although the video doesn't indicate it, the Household Division regiment that did this training is the Coldstream Guards, founded in 1650. It is recognizable by the red feather it wears on the right side of its black caps. In the video, we see the troops paying homage to this black flag. An officer salutes it, and the soldiers present their weapons in salute.

Here we see the black flag incorporated into the formation. It occupies a prominent place, similar to the Union Jack or the flag of the Coldstream Guards.

Finally we see the Coldstream Guards marching with the black ensign at the head of the formation. This ensign does not display any symbols or text.

These images have sparked a huge debate. The video has already been viewed more than 100,000 times, far exceeding the usual number on the YouTube channel, and has accumulated more than 900 comments. Many of them link the black flag to criticism of British symbols by some groups and blame Keir Starmer's Labour government.

It should be noted that the appearance of this black flag at this event has no political significance. Moreover, this black flag is not the symbol of the regiment that carried out this training, but the actual flag explains the appearance of this black ensign. In June, the British Royal Household published the photo above showing the flag of the 1st Battalion, Coldstream Guards. This flag includes references to the Coldstream Guards' participation in 24 military campaigns, from 1680 to the Second World War.

Here we can see the regimental flag, in a photo published by the British Ministry of Defence. The Royal Household explains that these flags are made from silk damask, with gold thread embroidery and fringes. Each of the Coldstream Guards' flags are very expensive pieces and must be looked after. That explains the black flag we saw during that training session, as well as the rainy weather we see in the video. A video commentator explains it this way: "Training Colour. Can be dropped, can get wet, can be abused (though practice should mean it wont be) Saves the actual colours for the actual event. This is a Guard change rehearsal."