“London Bridge has fallen.” It was with these words that the news of the Queen’s death was broken to the British Prime Minister and to some key figures in Britain and the Commonwealth.
The catchphrases were created to prevent Buckingham Palace officials from learning the news before it was made public. “Operation Tay Bridge” was used on the day of the Queen Mother’s death in 2002. In 2017, the term “Operation 4th Bridge” was chosen for the day it was necessary to publicize the death of the Duke of Edinburgh, the Queen husband, which ended up happening on April 9, 2021. For Carlos, “Operation Puente Menai” was created.
During more than six decades of Elizabeth II’s reign, she saw 7 popes pass through the Vatican, 15 North American presidents were elected and ten heads of state of the Soviet Union and Russia. Four of the last five British prime ministers were born after the Queen’s coronation. In Britain there are millions who have never known another monarch and that is why the news shook the country.
For 12 days the different countries will stop, first for mourning, then for the funeral. We still have to count on the coronation of the next monarch. As soon as Elizabeth died, Prince Charles became king and the brothers were the first to acknowledge the change by kissing his hands. Both the day of the funeral and the day of the coronation will be national holidays.
The forecasts made by various British newspapers, and which must now be confirmed, speak of the closure of the stock market and the banks. The chaos will see the country lose millions of pounds. It is also necessary to count the costs of all ceremonies.
What will happen is an event unlike anything Britain has seen since the end of the Second World War. For example, the BBC has canceled comedy shows and major pivots the radio and television prepared the announcement of the monarch’s death. Flags on all public buildings fly at half-staff. This happens not just in the UK, but throughout the Commonwealth. Most of the employees of Buckingham Palace and related institutions were sent home.
In 2014, the National Association of Civic Officers distributed protocols to be followed by local authorities in the event of “the death of a major national figure”. One recommendation is to stock loose-leaf sympathy books so you can weed out inappropriate messages. The books will be placed in town halls, libraries and museums. Giant screens will be placed in all cities so that people can follow the funeral ceremonies. The new monarch is expected to make a public statement within hours of his mother’s death.
On D+1 day, that is tomorrow, there will be a Succession Council in St. James to formally declare the successor. The proclamation is scheduled for 11 in the morning and will begin the reign of King Carlos III. The Succession Council is made up of the Privy Councilors to the Royal Family, the Lords, the Mayor of London and the High Commissioners from various Commonwealth countries.
Everything was prepared in detail since, until the 20th century, official ceremonies in Great Britain were marked by chaos. At Princess Charlotte’s funeral in 1817, the undertakers were drunk. Ten years later, St George’s Chapel was so cold during the Duke of York’s funeral that George Canning, the Foreign Secretary, contracted rheumatic fever and the Bishop of London died. Victoria’s coronation, a few years later, was not remembered by the organization. The priest was speechless, the choir was awful, and the royal jewelers were wrong about which finger the coronation ring would be worn on.
This time there will be little room for improvisation. The queen’s body will be laid to rest in the throne room of Buckingham Palace and later in Westminster Hall. There will be a short ceremony to mark the arrival of the coffin and the public will be able to enter to pay their respects to the Queen. 500,000 people are expected. As for the other procedures, they are unknown since the last death of a British king was in 1952 and what was done then may not apply now.
True, true, is that the anthem will have new lyrics since the successor is a man. Instead of “God save the queen”, it will be “God save the king”. All police helmets will change as they have the queen’s insignia and have to be changed to the future king’s. The banknotes and coins will also undergo changes to have the face of the new monarch.
Source: TSF
