During February 1943, the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Charles Portal, succeeded in getting the informal agreement of Buckingham Palace that the RAF should be represented on the Cenotaph by the flying of RAF ensigns on either side of the monument. However, when this request was passed to the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, he rejected the proposal, stating his opposition to any change. To make a second attempt at gaining the approval of the Prime Minister, the agreement of the First Lord of the Admiralty and the Secretary of State for War to the substitution of only one flag was secured. The Cabinet also favoured the new proposal, and although the Prime Minister remained opposed to any change, he acceded to the will of the Cabinet.