THE QUEEN has authorised the lowering of the Union Flag on Buckingham Palace to half-mast between 8am and sunset tomorrow in memory of the Bali bomb victims.

As many as 37 Britons are feared dead in the Indonesian terrorist blast but Palace officials emphasised that the mark of respect is for all nationalities who perished, with the final death toll expected to be more than 200. The Queen agreed that flags at British Embassies and High Commissions around the world would also be flown at half-mast.

The flag lowering coincides with the national day of mourning declared in Australia by John Howard, the Prime Minister, whose country was the most affected by the outrage.

A memorial service will also be held at St Paul’s Cathedral, in London, at evensong next Friday. The Queen has sent a message of sympathy to Mr Howard. She is said to have been deeply distressed by news of the attack.

The Union Flag was first flown on the Palace in 1997 after public complaints that there was no official sign of mourning for the death of Diana, Princess of Wales.

Previously the flagpole remained bare except for the flying of the Royal Standard when the Queen was in residence. By tradition the Standard is never flown at half-mast, as it would be taken as signifying the end of the monarchy.

The Union Flag now flies above the Palace when the Queen is not in residence. Tomorrow will be the sixth time it has been at half-mast: previous occasions have been the deaths of the Princess of Wales, Princess Margaret, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother and King Hussein of Jordan, and in the aftermath of September 11.

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