- Queen Elizabeth II has been alive for more than 95 years, and she’s held the crown for more than half of that, making her the longest-reigning monarch in the history of the world. She’s lived through over a dozen British prime ministers, 14 US presidents, and 20 Summer Olympics. – God bless her, she’s 95.
That’s a long-lived life. That’s a life well lived. – This is Bill Booth, and he agreed to talk about the unspeakable, the day London Bridge will fall down. – Fergie! – No, not the actual bridge, though that’s another interesting story in itself. Operation London Bridge is the not-so-secret plan for the United Kingdom when the queen dies.
- When the queen dies, the House of Windsor and the palace will go into super overdrive. – On the day of her death, known as D-Day, the queen’s private secretary will call the prime minister and say the words. – London Bridge is down. – The news will then go out to the 15 governments where the queen is also the head of state.
After that, the 38 other nations of the commonwealth will know. A news flash will be sent to the UK press association and media all over the world. At the BBC, an alarm for national emergencies will be activated. It’s so rarely used that many of their staff don’t even know what it sounds like.
- You’ve seen it? – No. – All of their anchors will wear black, and their usual red logo will go black, as well. At the same time, a man dressed in black will hang a sign on the gate outside Buckingham Palace. The royals’ website will also sport the same message, whatever that ends up being.
All the flags will be lowered to half-staff, and bells will toll. Immediately after her passing, her son Charles will unofficially become king. He’ll make his first speech as head of state that evening. This is the plan if she dies in London, but no need to fret. If she passes elsewhere, they’ve still got it planned out to a T.
The day after the queen’s death, the flags will be raised again. And at 11:00 am sharp, Charles will officially become king. He may or may not choose to stick with the name Charles, and his wife Camilla will become queen, per Elizabeth’s request. He will then tour the UK, to Edinburgh, Belfast, and Cardiff, to attend services honoring his mother.
Meanwhile, Westminster Hall will be closed for cleaning and funeral preparations. – The queen is coming. – Four days after her death, there will be a procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall, where she will lie in state for the next four days. Important people will be able to visit her first, then the normal people.
- The palace is expecting half a million, I don’t know, a million people to visit her there in her coffin. Then there’ll be a funeral, and then we go on from there. – The ninth day is funeral day. At 9:00 am, the bells covered in leather pads will ring muffled tones. The coffin will be carried to Westminster Abbey.
The funeral will begin at 11:00 am. Assuming the pandemic will allow it, 2,000 invited guests will attend, and the rest of the world will watch on their TVs. Everything will be shown except for the royals’ faces during prayer. After the funeral, the queen will go to Windsor Castle, where she will be buried next to her husband, Prince Philip, and her father, King George VI.
- God save the queen. – I don’t think there’ll be sobbing on the streets for the death of the queen. I think that tears will be shed, and people will a moment in passing, but I don’t think they’ll be gut-punched. – Brits overwhelmingly love the queen, and the queen loves them. I mean, she vowed to dedicate her whole life to them.
- I declare before you all that my whole life shall be devoted to your service. – They like the tradition of it. They like the steadfastness of it. They like that they come from a place even with a monarch that had, like, parliaments and rule by the people for centuries. They like their history, and she is a living link to history.
- Look, change is hard. And no one is looking forward to this day, no matter how inevitable it is. But one thing’s for sure. – It’ll just be a phenomenal 10 days of pomp and circumstance. I mean, they designed it that way, and that is the genius of this House of Windsor and this monarchy, right, that they know how to put on a good show.
