The British Government’s Secret 10-Day Plan After Death of Queen Elizabeth II Has Leaked
‘D-DAY’
The plans in “Operation London Bridge” have been in place for decades for what will happen when the monarch dies, but the leak contains the most detail yet.
Queen Elizabeth II appears to be in pretty remarkable health for a 95-year-old—but plans for what will happen after her death have in place for decades, and the latest draft has been leaked to Politico. The leak offers the most detail yet on what will happen in the ten days immediately after the monarch passes away. In a plan codenamed Operation London Bridge, the moment of the queen’s death will be known inside the government as “D-Day,” and will prompt a “call cascade” to inform the prime minister and his top officials. Flags on government buildings will be lowered to half-staff within 10 minutes of the first call, the royal family’s website will turn to black with a short announcement of the death, and all U.K. government social-media pages will stop publishing non-urgent content. The plans say the funeral will take place 10 days after the death, referred to in the documents as “D+10,” and officials are preparing for unprecedented crowds. In fact, one memo voices concerns that London will become “full” for the first time in history.
