What Is Operation London Bridge? Here's What Will Happen Following Queen Elizabeth II's Death
Only hours after it was announced that Queen Elizabeth II was "under medical supervision" at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, she passed away peacefully. She was 96 years old and she reigned over the United Kingdom for 70 years.
Queen Elizabeth II served as sovereign for 70 years, making her the longest-reigning monarch in British history. She was 96 years old and was just making a public appearance on Tuesday with the new British Prime Minister Liz Truss. She reportedly died peacefully on Thursday afternoon at Balmoral Castle. The new King Charles and his wife Camilla, the Queen Consort, will remain at Balmoral today before returning to London tomorrow. The United Kingdom will mourn the monarch's death for the next 10 days.
What Is Operation London Bridge? Here's What Will Happen Following Queen Elizabeth II's Death
The next question is what will happen after the Queen's death. Something called Operation London Bridge will take effect, which is a plan of action that was set up in the 1960s. It offers detailed instructions on how to handle the first 10 days after Her Majesty's death in order to smoothly transition the throne to her son Prince Charles.
There may be some last-minute changes to Operation London Bridge, but from what we know so far, the Queen's death will be referred to as "D-Day" and the day after her death will be called "D+1." Her funeral, which will be held 10 days after her death at Westminster Abbey, will be declared a "Day of National Mourning" and referred to as "D+10."
Within 10 minutes of her death, the flags across Whitehall will be lowered to half-mast and the Ministry of Defence will call for gun salutes to take place in her honor. This will be followed by a national moment of silence. Additionally, the royal family's website will have a black background and the U.K. government's website and all government departmental social media pages will have a black banner.
According to this operation, the prime minister will be the first government official to make a statement about the Queen's death (which Truss did on Thursday evening). The new monarch, Prince Charles, will deliver a speech to the nation at 6 p.m. on the evening following her passing.
On "D+1," the day after the Queen's death, Charles will officially be sworn in by the Accession Council as the new sovereign. On the third day following her death, he will start his tour of the United Kingdom as the new King, attending a service at St. Anne's Cathedral in Belfast.
Because the Queen died in Scotland, Operation Unicorn is enacted, which outlines that the Scottish Parliament will be suspended and the authorities will be given "36 hours to prepare for a motion of condolence in the chamber." Her body will be transported to Holyroodhouse, then to St Giles' Cathedral, and finally to Waverley Station where she will be taken to London by the Royal Train.
The funeral, which will take place 10 days after Queen Elizabeth's death, will start with two minutes of nationwide silence. The one-hour service will include a large ceremonial procession bringing the coffin to Hyde Park; it will be transferred from gun carriage to state hearse to be taken to Windsor. A committal service will be held at St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, where the coffin will be lowered into the royal vault.