Telegraphy the sense of a system that can transmit arbitrary messages over arbitrary distances. Lines of signalling relay stations can send messages to any required distance, but all these systems are limited to one extent or another in the range of messages that they can send. A system like flag semaphore, with an alphabetic code, can certainly send any given message, but the system is designed for short-range communication between two persons. An engine order telegraph, used to send instructions from the bridge of a ship to the engine room, fails to meet both criteria; it has a limited distance and
Flags of the Dutch royal family mark the presence of an individual in certain buildings, when on vehicles (e.g. a car or ship), or in an army unit. The flag of the monarch is flown above Huis ten Bosch Palace in The Hague (the king's private residence) and above Noordeinde Palace in The Hague (the king's official residence) when the monarch is in the Netherlands, but not necessarily when he is actually resident. Besides these two residences, the royal standard is flown above other palaces, castles or estates where and when the King is actually staying. The flags are never flown at half-mast; during a period