" London Bridge is down ", is the code phrase with which the demise of Queen Elizabeth II was announced to the prime minister, key members of the royal family and senior members of Parliament. She was British longest ruling monarch and she was in power for seven decades. She died at 96, on 8th September, 2022, at Balmoral, her royal residence in Scotland. This meticulous way of announcing her demise was in accordance with " Operation London Bridge ", a set of carefully planned royal protocols that spells out what should happen between the Queen's death and Interment. According to this plan, the day of the Queen's death will be referred to as the D-Day. Subsequent days will be named D-Day + 1, D-Day + 2... and so on.
THE D-DAY
After news of her death has been broken to the general public, Prince Charles will automatically succeed his mother and will be known as, King Charles III, with his wife, Camilla, as the Queen's Consort (wife of the King). Flags in the UK will fly at half-mast and there will be salute guns to commemorate her legacy. King Charles and the newly appointed Prime Minister, Liz Truss, will issue brief statements to the general public.
D-DAY + 1
At around 10 a.m. the Accession Council will meet and proclaim Prince Charles as King. He then reads and signs the oath to uphold the security of the church and the continuity of the government. Senior members of the Parliament also swear allegiance to the newly proclaimed King and for the first time since 1952, the national anthem will be played with the words, " God save the King ".
D-DAY + 2 to D-DAY + 9
Queen Elizabeth's body will be brought from Scotland to Buckingham Palace in London. She will be laid in state at Westminster Hall on a raised box known as Catafalque, for 3 days, during which the public and VIPs can visit for 23 hours of each day. Meanwhile King Charles is expected to take a tour of the United Kingdom starting from Scotland, through North Ireland and probably end it in Wales.
D-DAY + 10
A state funeral will be held at Westminster Abbey in honour of the Queen. It will be a national day of mourning and a two - minute silence will be observed at mid-day across the UK. Her majesty will be buried at King George VI's chapel inside St. George's Chapel. Her late husband Philip will be moved from the Royal vault in St. George's Chapel to King George VI's chapel and laid beside her.
One thing worth noting is that, how these royal events unfold may not follow a clear pattern, however, there is a rough map of how things should happen following centuries of royal practice.
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