This Is What Happens After the Death of a Queen
Update, 2:10 pm, September 8: Buckingham Palace announced the death of Queen Elizabeth II this afternoon . Queen Elizabeth II is under medical observation and doctors are ” concerned ” about her health, according to a statement released today by Buckingham Palace . While rumors about the Queen’s status (dead or alive) have circulated online, there is no doubt about the fragility of the health of the longest-serving 96-year-old British monarchy, or the global significance of her death – crowned in 1953 . she has been in power longer than many of those reading this have been alive.
Last year, Politico reported on Operation London Bridge , also known as the UK government’s plan for what would happen in the days following the Queen’s death. Here is a brief overview of the carefully crafted plans for what will happen when Queen Elizabeth II dies.
“London Bridge collapsed”
Hours after the Queen’s death, a “cascade of calls” will brief the Prime Minister, the Cabinet Secretary (the UK’s highest-ranking civil servant) and a number of top ministers and officials. The phrase “London Bridge is destroyed” is expected to be used to report the Queen’s death.
The royal family will then release a legal notice giving the news to the public. After that, the prime minister will be the first member of the government to make a statement. Naturally, today’s communication plans are focused on social media, and all the important players already have the texts of these tweets. Retweets from all social media pages of government departments are explicitly prohibited unless approved by the head of the central government for public affairs. All other members of the government will be instructed not to comment until the Prime Minister has spoken.
The royal family’s website will change to a black page with a short statement confirming the queen’s death. The royal family will then announce plans for the Queen’s funeral, which is expected to take place 10 days after her death.
The funeral
On the eve of the funeral, the Queen will spend three days at the Palace of Westminster. Her coffin will be open to the public 23 hours a day.
The day of the state funeral would become the “Day of National Mourning”, effectively becoming a public holiday (although not directly called that). Politico clarifies that if the funeral falls on a weekend or an existing public holiday, no additional public holidays will be provided. If the funeral falls on a weekday, the government has no plans to order employers to give workers the day off.
On the day of the funeral at noon, there will be a two-minute silence throughout the UK. The state funeral itself will take place at Westminster Abbey, with processions taking place in London and Windsor. The service will be held at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle and the Queen will be buried at the King George VI Memorial Chapel.
succession to the throne
Charles, Prince of Wales, 73, is the heir to the British throne as the eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II. He is expected to become King Charles III at 10 a.m. the day after the Queen’s death.
When Prince Charles becomes king, his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall will not become queen . As the king’s wife, her technical title would be queen consort. This means that Camilla will not share the King’s sovereignty or his political and military powers. According to the Royal Family’s website , the royal line of succession is “regulated not only by lineage, but by statute of parliament”.
Next in line after Charles is his eldest son Prince William, Duke of Cambridge. He will become Duke of Cornwall when Charles becomes king and will be given the title of Prince of Wales.
As the new king, Charles will address the nation on the day of the queen’s death. He will then embark on a four-country tour through England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland.
The monarchy will endure… but should it?
There are always incredibly detailed plans for what happens after the death of leading members of the royal family. Operation London Bridge attempts to explain every little protocol, aftermath and quirk after the Queen’s death. For example, instead of “God Save the Queen”, the wording of the national anthem would be changed to “God Save the King”. Of course, it sounds different, but perhaps this phrase should be removed from the national anthem altogether. Many point out that this is the perfect opportunity to abolish the British monarchy once and for all. Given the outdated, there must be incomprehensible levels of privilege and inequality that make members of the royal family “royal”, I can’t help but agree.