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Queen's 'Operation London Bridge' Funeral Plans Have Been Leaked

Queen's 'Operation London Bridge' Funeral Plans Have Been Leaked

The documents appear to give a rundown of events

Rebecca Shepherd

Rebecca Shepherd

Leaked documents appear to reveal what will happen when Queen Elizabeth II dies.

POLITICO reports that it has obtained files which reveals that the event will be codenamed 'Operation LONDON BRIDGE' and will begin with a call from a civil servant to the Prime Minister telling him/her 'London Bridge is down'.

PA

When the day does come there will be a ten day period between her death and funeral, with Prince Charles - who will take over as King - addressing the nation on the same day his mother passes.

According to the leaked reports, the Prime Minister (whoever that will be) is one of the first to be informed with a call to him. Then members of the Privy Council will be told.

An email will then be sent out to senior politicians that will read: "Dear colleagues, It is with sadness that I write to inform you of the death of Her Majesty The Queen."

The news will be shared with the media and social media posts will be shared to deliver the information as far as possible.

The day that the monarch passes has been referred to as 'D-Day' with each day leading to the funeral being known as 'D+1', 'D+2' and so on.

Flags across Whitehall will be lowered to half-mast following the announcement and the PM will be the first member of government to make a statement.

A gun salute will be organised as well as a national minute's silence arranged.

From then, the PM will hold an audience with Prince Charles who will become King at 6pm. Charles will deliver a broadcast to the nation and there will be a service of remembrance at St. Paul's Cathedral.

PA

The following day (D+1), the Accession Council (made up of all Privy Counsellors, Great Officers of State, the Lord Mayor and City Civic party, Realm High Commissioners and certain senior civil servants) will meet and proclaim King Charles the new sovereign.

Then at 3:30pm that same say, the PM and Cabinet will hold an audience with the new King.

On D+2 the Queen's coffin will return to Buckingham Palace (that's if she passes at her Norfolk residence). She will travel to St. Pancras station on the royal train.

If she dies at Balmoral in Scotland then she will either be carried via the royal train or by plane.

On D+3, King Charles will receive a motion of condolence at Westminster Hall and in the afternoon he will begin a tour of the UK.

It's a busy time indeed for Charles because he will then travel to Northern Ireland on D+4 where he'll receive another motion of condolence.

There will also be a rehearsal for the coffin to be taken from Buckingham Palace to the Palace of Westminster.

On D+5, the procession that was rehearsed the day before will take place along a ceremonial route through the country's capital.

PA

D-Day+6 to D-Day+9 will consist of funeral preparations and rehearsals, motions of condolences and arrangements by the relevant government departments such as the Home Office dealing with security arrangements and the Department of Transport sorting out potential overcrowding issues.

D+10 will be the official state funeral which, it has been agreed, will also be a 'Day of National Mourning'. In other words, it will be a bank holiday - the government however doesn't plan to order employers to give employees the day off.

The funeral will be held at Westminster Abbey and there will be a two minutes' silence at midday.

Processions will take place before the Queen is buried in the castle's King George VI Memorial Chapel.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: UK News, News, Queen, UK