The minutes, hours and days following the death of Queen Elizabeth II have been planned in great detail since the 1960s as Operation London Bridge.
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The death of the British sovereign yesterday triggered a protocol which scrupulously describes the procedure to follow until her funeral, scheduled 10 days later.
Last September, the American media Politico got his hands on British government documents detailing said plan.
They list the many responsibilities of each branch of the state, including how to handle a never-before-seen crowd heading to London to bid farewell to their queen of the past 70 years. Everything is there, from the most complex detail to the most trivial.
D-day
As soon as the death of Elizabeth II was noted, Her Majesty’s secretary, Edward Young, had to communicate the news to the British Prime Minister, Liz Truss.
He was expected to utter the phrase “ London Bridge is down (London Bridge collapsed), a code signifying the Queen’s death.
The government then warned the Commonwealth countries, including Canada, Australia, the Bahamas, Jamaica, New Zealand.
At the same time, the flag at Buckingham Palace was lowered to half-mast.
Since the Queen passed away at Balmoral Castle, Scotland, it’s the special operation unicorn which was set in motion, but everything was also planned if she died elsewhere.
According to the instructions, the remains of the sovereign must therefore be transported to Edinburgh, before traveling to the capital by royal train.
A new monarch
At the same time, the operation Spring Sidewhich concerns the accession of Prince Charles to the throne, was also triggered yesterday.
Automatically made king, Charles first issued a statement mourning the loss of his mother. He is also scheduled to deliver a speech today.
At 10 a.m., the Council for the Accession to the Throne, which includes several members of the government, must meet to officially proclaim Charles as the new sovereign. All parliamentary activities will be suspended for 10 days.
The protocol also calls for the new monarch to begin a journey through his kingdom three days after the death of his mother.
He will of course be back in London to attend the grandiose funeral planned at Westminster Abbey for the one who reigned the longest over the United Kingdom.
– With The Guardian