Operation London Bridge: Queen Elizabeth II's death triggers elaborate 10-day mourning

With the passing away of Queen Elizabeth, Operation London Bridge comes into effect. Formulated in the 1960s, the plan involves processes that would take place in the coming next days, culminating in the funeral of the late Queen Elizabeth II.

New Delhi: The passing away of Queen Elizabeth II, the longest reigning British monarch so far, has initiated Operation London Bridge. Formulated in the 1960s, the plan comes into effect moments after the monarch's death and comes to an end 10 days later, with her funeral.

As reported in the UK by several news outlets since 2017, the entire procedure is a series of processes that involves lateral starting of other 'Operations', such as Operation Unicorn and Operation Spring Tide. While Operation Unicorn takes into account the Queen's death in Balmoral Castle, and subsequent provisions to suspend the Scottish Cabinet, Spring Tide initiates proceedings to coronate

'London Bridge is down' is, as has been widely reported so far, the message by the late Queen's Secretary to current UK PM Liz Truss to indicate the monarch's death. The plan refers to the day of the Queen's death as 'D', with 'D+10' demarcating the scheduled date of the funeral.

After death, the news is dispatched by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) Global Response Centre to 15 countries outside the United Kingdom where the monarch is the head of state, as well as 38 Commonwealth countries. The Queen's passing also signifies Prince Charle's succession to the throne.

At the time of writing this report, the date for coronation has been set to be Saturday, in London's St Jame's Palace, in the presence of the Accession Council. The Parliament, meanwhile, will remain suspended for 10 days and a meeting will be called for the MPs to offer their condolences. The PM and the Cabinet will subsequently meet the new king, in the current scenario King Charles III.

As the Queen died at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, her body will be carried to London by royal train dubbed Operation Unicorn or Operation Overstudy will kick in if her body is flown back to London. Operation Lion refers to the Queen’s coffin being transferred from Buckingham Palace to the Palace of Westminster via a ceremonial route through London. When it arrives, a memorial service is expected at Westminster Hall.

The coffin is expected to lie in state where hundreds of thousands of people are expected to converge on London to visit her and pay their respects, and condolence books will be opened online. The State Funeral is expected at Westminster Abbey in London.