‘Operation London Bridge’: Inside Plans For Queen Elizabeth’s Death And Funeral

Topline

Operation London Bridge, the codename for the plans to be put into effect immediately after Queen Elizabeth’s death, was trending on social media Thursday after Buckingham Palace announced the queen was placed under medical supervision out of concern for her health with the royal family rushing to Scotland to be by her side.

Queen Elizabeth II waves during a walk about around Windsor on her 90th Birthday on April 21, 2016 … [+] in Windsor, England.

WireImage Key Facts

When the queen dies, Elizabeth’s private secretary Edward Young will first inform high-ranking government officials, according to documents outlining the plans obtained by Politico last year, and the message will be communicated across the government using the code phrase “London Bridge is down,” according to a viral 2017 piece in The Guardian.

After the royal household releases an “official notification” to the public about the queen’s death, the documents outline how all flags across Whitehall, the London center of British government, will be lowered to half-mast, preferably within 10 minutes.

The prime minister will be the first government official to make a public statement following the announcement and will meet with Elizabeth’s eldest son Charles, the next in line to the throne, before he publicly addresses the nation that evening, per the documents’ plans.

The plans even outlined specific measures for if the queen dies at Balmoral Castle–where on Thursday she was placed under medical supervision–under one titled “Project Unicorn,” her body will be transported back to London by the royal train, with the prime minister and other officials slated to welcome the coffin back to the capitol with a reception.

The queen’s funeral is tentatively planned to take place 10 days after her death, and in the days leading up to the affair–expected to be held at Westminster Abbey–Charles plans to tour the U.K. and visit Northern Ireland and Wales.

Elizabeth plans to be buried at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle–reportedly her favorite of the royal residences–in the King George VI Memorial Chapel, where her late father, King George VI, the Queen Mother and her sister Princess Margaret were all laid to rest (upon her death, the body of Elizabeth’s late husband Prince Philip, who died last year, will be moved to the same vault as his wife).

Key Background

With the plans being updated multiple times per year, the preparations for Elizabeth’s death may have been revamped since the documents were obtained by Politico last year. A piece published by The Guardian in 2017 went viral after it outlined the plans for Elizabeth’s death and compared the preparations with the plans made for previous British monarchs. The initial London Bridge plans were first outlined in the 1960s, according to The Guardian, and since around 2000 meetings about the plans have taken place two or three times a year. When Elizabeth’s father King George VI died in 1952 at the royal family’s Norfolk property Sandringham House, Buckingham Palace was informed of his death using the code “Hyde Park Corner,” the name of a busy London Underground station near his London residence, to keep switchboard operators from leaking the news of the king’s death.

Further Reading

Covid, Sprained Back, Mobility Issues: What We Know About The Queen’s Health In Recent Months (Forbes)

Queen Under Medical Supervision As Doctors Are ‘Concerned For Her Health’ (Forbes)

Britain’s plan for when Queen Elizabeth II dies (Politico)

‘London Bridge is down’: the secret plan for the days after the Queen’s death (The Guardian)