MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
President Trump has arrived here in the United Kingdom for a state visit. Windsor Castle, where he'll be tomorrow, is surrounded with flags for his arrival. But as NPR's Lauren Frayer reports from Windsor, Americans and Britons tend to view their flags in different ways.
LAUREN FRAYER, BYLINE: Walking along the walls of Windsor Castle, there are Union Jacks on one side of the street and stars and stripes on the other. You know, Americans are used to their flag flying everywhere, but Brits don't really do this, unless it's a sporting event, something royal or an American president is in town.
MICHAEL KENNY: Because the English were always the people who prided themselves on not needing to wave flags, seeing that as a slightly vulgar, showy thing to do.
FRAYER: Michael Kenny, a Cambridge professor, studies nationalism and flags, and he says there's been a change here recently.
KENNY: During the course of this summer, people have been flying the flags to make a protest about immigrations. For some people, the flag means a kind of ethnic form of nationalism, and we saw this on Saturday.
FRAYER: Last Saturday, more than 100,000 people attended an anti-immigrant rally in London. Some clashed with police.
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FRAYER: Many waved the flag of England - white with a red cross - which has been associated with the far right. but they also waved the flag of the United Kingdom - the Union Jack - which has not. The U.K. flag has also been popping up at similar protests outside hotels, where the government has been housing asylum-seekers. Some say it's not political. It's pride. My producer in London spoke to Jean Johnson visiting from Warwickshire.
JEAN JOHNSON: There's nothing wrong with being proud of our country. I think that's the point.
FRAYER: But retiree Ian Taylor says he worries.
IAN TAYLOR: The Union Jack - well, unfortunately, it's kind of been hijacked by the right wing. Having too many of them makes me start to feel uneasy.
FRAYER: And that's especially true for some minorities. Humma Jameel was born in England but feels more British than English. She says the English flag...
HUMMA JAMEEL: Naturally, as a person of color, the flag can feel exclusionary.
FRAYER: The British flag was always different, though - more inclusive. U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has called on the public to reclaim their flags from those who might use them for fear or division. And so now there are even more flags going up. Here's Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper on TV recently.
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YVETTE COOPER: I've got St. George's bunting. I've got the Yorkshire rose bunting, as well. I've got Union Jack flags and tablecloths.
FRAYER: It feels like politicians are competing. Who can fly more flags and reclaim the mantle of patriotism? But with the far right surging in the polls here, there's also some unease on the streets about what all this means. Lauren Frayer, NPR News in Windsor, England. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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