Op London Bridge: The Protocol To Be Followed Post Queen Elizabeth's Death

The codename for the protocol is "Operation London Bridge" and the day of her death will be referred to as D-Day.

Queen Elizabeth II.

(Photo Courtesy: anglicannews.org)

Queen Elizabeth II, Britain's longest-serving monarch, passed away on Thursday, 8 September. And so began 'Operation London Bridge.' That is the codename for the British government's operational protocol following the monarch's death.

The prime minister is to be alerted by a phone call from a civil servant telling her "London Bridge is down."

The day of her death will be referred to as D-Day, while every day following that day will be referred to as D+1 and D+2 and so forth.

Here's how Operation London Bridge will be carried out.

'Dear Colleagues...'

Following her death, a "call cascade" will take place informing the prime minister (by the Queen's private secretary), a post currently occupied by Liz Truss. The cabinet secretary, who is the country's highest-ranking civil servant and some senior ministers and officials will also be informed.

The cabinet secretary, according to Politico, which obtained a series of documents about the plan, will email the government ministers and senior civil servants, "Dear colleagues, It is with sadness that I write to inform you of the death of Her Majesty The Queen."

The departmental permanent secretaries will tell their respective ministers, "We have just been informed of the death of Her Majesty The Queen."

From the Foreign Office’s Global Response Centre, the news of her death, as per the protocol, should have reached the 14 governments outside the UK where the Queen is also the head of state, and the 36 other Commonwealth nations as well.

PM's Statement, Gun Salute, and Remembrance

The prime minister will be the first government official to make a statement. Nobody else in the government can make any public comments until after the prime minister has spoken. The British parliament will be adjourned, along with the legislatures in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

The Ministry of Defence would arrange for gun salutes. A national one-minute silence will be announced.

There will be a service of remembrance at St Paul's Cathedral, which will be attended by the prime minister and a number of senior ministers.

The prime minister will hold a meeting with the new monarch, King Charles, who will then deliver a speech to the nation.

The Next Day, D+1

The morning following the Queen's demise, reportedly at 10 am, the Accession Council will meet at St James' Palace to proclaim King Charles as the new monarch.

This will be followed by a message of condolence, and all other parliamentary business won't resume for 10 days. Members of Parliaments will give their tributes in the House of Commons.

At 3:30 pm, the prime minister and the Cabinet will meet the new monarch.

The Funeral and the Coffin

The funeral of the Queen is supposed to take place at Westminster Abbey. A national two-minute silence will be held on the day. The funeral processions will be held in both London and Windsor, and a committal service will take place at St George's Chapel.

There will be a rehearsal for the procession of the Queen's coffin from Buckingham Palace to the Palace of Westminster, while the actual one will be held on the fifth day after her death. She will lie in Westminster Palace for three days (Operation Feather). Then there will then be a service at Westminster Hall.

She will be buried at the King George VI Memorial Chapel in Windsor.

How the Media Will React

At the BBC, which has historically been told about royal deaths before other media outlets, a "radio alert transmission system" will be activated.

Obituaries and articles on her life will flood the papers. The Times, for instance, reportedly has 11 days of content about the Queen ready.

All government departmental social media pages will have a black banner and their profile pictures will change to their departmental crest. Any content considered non-urgent will not be published.