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Operation London Bridge
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Operation London Bridge
Operation London Bridge was the funeral plan for Queen Elizabeth II. The plan included the announcement of her death, the period of official mourning, and the details of her state funeral. The plan was created as early as the 1960s and revised many times in the years before her death in September 2022.
The phrase "London Bridge is down" was to be used to communicate the death of the Queen to the prime minister of the United Kingdom and key personnel, setting the plan into motion. Bodies involved in preparing the plan included various government departments, the Church of England, Metropolitan Police Service, the British Armed Forces, the media, the Royal Parks, London boroughs, the Greater London Authority and Transport for London. Some critical decisions relating to the plan were made by the Queen herself, while some were left to be determined by her successor. Reporting on the preparations, The Guardian described them as "planned to the minute" with "arcane and highly specific" details.
Several other plans were also created to support the implementation of Operation London Bridge, such as Operation Unicorn (the plan that detailed what was to happen if Elizabeth were to die in Scotland, which she did). Running concurrently with Operation London Bridge were operations concerning King Charles III's accession to the throne and coronation. Several Commonwealth realms developed their own plans for how to react to the death of the Queen.
Funerals and coronations of members of the British royal family are typically organised by the Earl Marshal and the officers in the College of Arms. Preparations for Elizabeth II's death and funeral had also been made by the Cabinet Office.
Pre-determined phrases have typically been used as "codenames" for plans relating to the death and funeral of a royal family member. Initially, codenames were used by key officials in an effort to prevent switchboard operators of Buckingham Palace from learning of the death prior to a public announcement. When King George VI died in 1952, key government officials were informed with the phrase "Hyde Park Corner".
Several codenamed funeral plans for royal family members in the late-20th and early-21st centuries have used the names of prominent bridges in the United Kingdom. Operation Tay Bridge was the phrase used for the death and funeral plans of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, which was rehearsed for 22 years before its eventual use in 2002. The funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales in 1997 was also modelled after Operation Tay Bridge. As of March 2017[update], the phrase Operation Forth Bridge referred to the death and funeral of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who died in 2021. The funeral arrangements for Charles III used several different codenames during his lifetime, before being renamed Operation Menai Bridge. All coded operations for members of the royal family, including the plan for Elizabeth II, form a part of Operation Lion, an overarching plan for any royal death. The operation and the coded phrase for Elizabeth II's death was first made public in a 2017 Guardian article.
A 2024 biography of Charles III by Robert Hardman claimed the King's funeral arrangements have "been upgraded to Operation London Bridge, mirroring those of Elizabeth II". Planning for Charles III's funeral arrangement began shortly after his coronation held in 2023. The biography also claims that the codename Operation Menai Bridge was used for William, Prince of Wales, replacing the codename previously used, Operation Clare Bridge.
Preparations for Queen Elizabeth II's death and funeral date back to the 1960s, with the plan having undergone multiple changes in the decades since. The plan was updated three times a year through a meeting involving government department officials, the police, and broadcasters. The plan that outlines the process between the death of the Queen and her funeral was codenamed Operation London Bridge.
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Operation London Bridge
Operation London Bridge was the funeral plan for Queen Elizabeth II. The plan included the announcement of her death, the period of official mourning, and the details of her state funeral. The plan was created as early as the 1960s and revised many times in the years before her death in September 2022.
The phrase "London Bridge is down" was to be used to communicate the death of the Queen to the prime minister of the United Kingdom and key personnel, setting the plan into motion. Bodies involved in preparing the plan included various government departments, the Church of England, Metropolitan Police Service, the British Armed Forces, the media, the Royal Parks, London boroughs, the Greater London Authority and Transport for London. Some critical decisions relating to the plan were made by the Queen herself, while some were left to be determined by her successor. Reporting on the preparations, The Guardian described them as "planned to the minute" with "arcane and highly specific" details.
Several other plans were also created to support the implementation of Operation London Bridge, such as Operation Unicorn (the plan that detailed what was to happen if Elizabeth were to die in Scotland, which she did). Running concurrently with Operation London Bridge were operations concerning King Charles III's accession to the throne and coronation. Several Commonwealth realms developed their own plans for how to react to the death of the Queen.
Funerals and coronations of members of the British royal family are typically organised by the Earl Marshal and the officers in the College of Arms. Preparations for Elizabeth II's death and funeral had also been made by the Cabinet Office.
Pre-determined phrases have typically been used as "codenames" for plans relating to the death and funeral of a royal family member. Initially, codenames were used by key officials in an effort to prevent switchboard operators of Buckingham Palace from learning of the death prior to a public announcement. When King George VI died in 1952, key government officials were informed with the phrase "Hyde Park Corner".
Several codenamed funeral plans for royal family members in the late-20th and early-21st centuries have used the names of prominent bridges in the United Kingdom. Operation Tay Bridge was the phrase used for the death and funeral plans of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, which was rehearsed for 22 years before its eventual use in 2002. The funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales in 1997 was also modelled after Operation Tay Bridge. As of March 2017[update], the phrase Operation Forth Bridge referred to the death and funeral of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who died in 2021. The funeral arrangements for Charles III used several different codenames during his lifetime, before being renamed Operation Menai Bridge. All coded operations for members of the royal family, including the plan for Elizabeth II, form a part of Operation Lion, an overarching plan for any royal death. The operation and the coded phrase for Elizabeth II's death was first made public in a 2017 Guardian article.
A 2024 biography of Charles III by Robert Hardman claimed the King's funeral arrangements have "been upgraded to Operation London Bridge, mirroring those of Elizabeth II". Planning for Charles III's funeral arrangement began shortly after his coronation held in 2023. The biography also claims that the codename Operation Menai Bridge was used for William, Prince of Wales, replacing the codename previously used, Operation Clare Bridge.
Preparations for Queen Elizabeth II's death and funeral date back to the 1960s, with the plan having undergone multiple changes in the decades since. The plan was updated three times a year through a meeting involving government department officials, the police, and broadcasters. The plan that outlines the process between the death of the Queen and her funeral was codenamed Operation London Bridge.