What is the London Bridge Protocol? Here's what happens when the Queen dies
With QEII's passing I wanted to share an article from 2017 that details exactly what happens next [summary bullets by me, it's a realllllly long article]:
Upon the death of UK's Queen Elizabeth II, her eldest son Charles became King https://t.co/pQeBbq3Qqi pic.twitter.com/9TkxCqzLkO
- Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) September 8, 2022
tweet
Immediately after death
• Her eyes will be closed and Charles will be king. His siblings will kiss his hands.
• For a time, she will be gone without our knowing it. Governors general, ambassadors and prime ministers will learn first. Cupboards will be opened in search of black armbands, three-and-a-quarter inches wide, to be worn on the left arm.
• When the Queen dies, the announcement will go out as a newsflash to the Press Association and the rest of the world’s media simultaneously.
• A footman in mourning clothes will emerge from Buckingham Palace and pin a black-edged notice to the gates. While he does this, the palace (and the BBC) website will be transformed into a sombre, single page, showing the same text on a dark background.
• At the BBC, the “radio alert transmission system” (Rats), will be activated - a cold war-era alarm designed to withstand an attack on the nation’s infrastructure. Rats, which is also sometimes referred to as “royal about to snuff it”.
• Every station, down to hospital radio, has prepared music lists made up of “Mood 2” (sad) or “Mood 1” (saddest) songs to reach for in times of sudden mourning.
• Stations (radio and tv) will play "Haunted Dancehall (Nursery Remix)" to mark the occasion. This is the 'something catastrophic has happened' music.
If the Queen dies at Balmoral
• The Queen’s body will lie at rest at Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh.
• Then the coffin will be carried up the Royal Mile to St Giles’s cathedral for a service of reception, before being put on board the Royal Train at Waverley station down the east coast mainline. People are expected to throw flowers at the coffin as it passes by. A second train will travel behind it to pick up debris.
• The Queen’s body returns to the throne room in Buckingham Palace.
• The first plans for London Bridge date back to the 1960s, there have been meetings two or three times a year for the various actors involved. It takes 28 minutes at a slow march from the doors of St James’s to the entrance of Westminster Hall.
• The coffin must have a false lid to hold the crown jewels, with a rim at least three inches high.
After the Queen's corpse arrives at Buckingham Palace
• A day after the Queen dies (D+1), the flags will go back up (from half mast), and at 11am, Charles will be proclaimed king.
• Four days after the Queen dies (D+4), the coffin will move to Westminster Hall, to lie in state for four full days. The military procession from Buckingham Palace travels down the Mall, through Horse Guards, and past the Cenotaph.
• The Queen lies in state for 5 days, 23 hours a day.
• Nine days after the Queen dies (D+9) her funeral will take place in Westminster Abbey (Charles will lead everyone in mourning). This is the first monarch to be available for viewing in Westminster Abbey since 1760.
• Big Ben will strike at 9am on the morning of the funeral. The bell’s hammer will be covered by a leather pad seven-sixteenths of an inch thick, and it will ring out in muffled tones throughout the day.
• The funeral begins at 11am and the country is expected to halt. No train announcements or organised activities (like football games) are going to happen.
• This is the first funeral of a reigning English monarch to be televised.
Charles becomes King
• At dawn, the central window on the eastern front will have been removed and the roof outside covered in red felt. After Charles has given an address, trumpeters from the Life Guards will give three blasts and the Garter King of Arms will stand on the balcony and begin the ritual proclamations for the newly crowned King Charles III.
• King Charles III will immediately tour the country.
I haven't done any research to changes that have been made since 2017. I just liked the intricate detail of this article. I wouldn't think about 97% of these things and the government has been planning them for decades. There is *significantly* more information at the source.
Haunted Dancehall
Guardian Article
Upon the death of UK's Queen Elizabeth II, her eldest son Charles became King https://t.co/pQeBbq3Qqi pic.twitter.com/9TkxCqzLkO
- Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) September 8, 2022
tweet
Immediately after death
• Her eyes will be closed and Charles will be king. His siblings will kiss his hands.
• For a time, she will be gone without our knowing it. Governors general, ambassadors and prime ministers will learn first. Cupboards will be opened in search of black armbands, three-and-a-quarter inches wide, to be worn on the left arm.
• When the Queen dies, the announcement will go out as a newsflash to the Press Association and the rest of the world’s media simultaneously.
• A footman in mourning clothes will emerge from Buckingham Palace and pin a black-edged notice to the gates. While he does this, the palace (and the BBC) website will be transformed into a sombre, single page, showing the same text on a dark background.
• At the BBC, the “radio alert transmission system” (Rats), will be activated - a cold war-era alarm designed to withstand an attack on the nation’s infrastructure. Rats, which is also sometimes referred to as “royal about to snuff it”.
• Every station, down to hospital radio, has prepared music lists made up of “Mood 2” (sad) or “Mood 1” (saddest) songs to reach for in times of sudden mourning.
• Stations (radio and tv) will play "Haunted Dancehall (Nursery Remix)" to mark the occasion. This is the 'something catastrophic has happened' music.
Click to viewIf the Queen dies at Balmoral
• The Queen’s body will lie at rest at Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh.
• Then the coffin will be carried up the Royal Mile to St Giles’s cathedral for a service of reception, before being put on board the Royal Train at Waverley station down the east coast mainline. People are expected to throw flowers at the coffin as it passes by. A second train will travel behind it to pick up debris.
• The Queen’s body returns to the throne room in Buckingham Palace.
• The first plans for London Bridge date back to the 1960s, there have been meetings two or three times a year for the various actors involved. It takes 28 minutes at a slow march from the doors of St James’s to the entrance of Westminster Hall.
• The coffin must have a false lid to hold the crown jewels, with a rim at least three inches high.
After the Queen's corpse arrives at Buckingham Palace
• A day after the Queen dies (D+1), the flags will go back up (from half mast), and at 11am, Charles will be proclaimed king.
• Four days after the Queen dies (D+4), the coffin will move to Westminster Hall, to lie in state for four full days. The military procession from Buckingham Palace travels down the Mall, through Horse Guards, and past the Cenotaph.
• The Queen lies in state for 5 days, 23 hours a day.
• Nine days after the Queen dies (D+9) her funeral will take place in Westminster Abbey (Charles will lead everyone in mourning). This is the first monarch to be available for viewing in Westminster Abbey since 1760.
• Big Ben will strike at 9am on the morning of the funeral. The bell’s hammer will be covered by a leather pad seven-sixteenths of an inch thick, and it will ring out in muffled tones throughout the day.
• The funeral begins at 11am and the country is expected to halt. No train announcements or organised activities (like football games) are going to happen.
• This is the first funeral of a reigning English monarch to be televised.
Charles becomes King
• At dawn, the central window on the eastern front will have been removed and the roof outside covered in red felt. After Charles has given an address, trumpeters from the Life Guards will give three blasts and the Garter King of Arms will stand on the balcony and begin the ritual proclamations for the newly crowned King Charles III.
• King Charles III will immediately tour the country.
I haven't done any research to changes that have been made since 2017. I just liked the intricate detail of this article. I wouldn't think about 97% of these things and the government has been planning them for decades. There is *significantly* more information at the source.
Haunted Dancehall
Guardian Article