The Queen may have many years left in her yet, but already there is a lot of planning surrounding her death.
It might seem grim, but it’s something that has fascinated many around the world – and now details of the once secret plan of what happens when she dies have been made public.
So, what will happen when the Queen does pass away?
Well, according to The Guardian, it’ll begin with a secret code – “London Bridge is down”.
The Queen’s private secretary, Sir Christopher Geidt will be the first to break the news. He’ll call the Prime Minister, waking them up if necessary to break the news.
When the Queen’s father, King George VI died, “Hyde Park Corner” was the code word used. When the Queen dies, civil servants will be using the code word “London Bridge is down” to secretly convey the message that Her Majesty has passed away.
After the UK Prime Minister is informed, the news will be passed on to the Prime Ministers and governments in Commonwealth countries and countries such as Australia where the Queen is head of state.
Yet, the public still will not know about the Queen’s demise until the Prime Ministers, governors general and ambassadors are informed.
When King George VI died in 1952, it was almost four hours between his death and the news going public. But according to The Guardian, we’ll know about the death of the Queen a lot sooner.
In the past The BBC has been the news organisation that breaks the news of the death of a reigning monarch. But with the changing media world, it’s likely the news could be sent from the palace to most major media organisations at the same time.
From there will come the obituaries, the tweets, the headlines, the breaking news bulletins and round the clock coverage.
It turns out many news organisations have procedures in place for the death of the Queen, and have even rehearsed how they would cover the news.
News presenters will black, radios and televisions will fall silent with nothing but royal standards, and the haunting words “This is the BBC from London” will interrupt broadcasts around the world.
No doubt you will remember where you were when you heard of her death.
The Guardian reports that as soon as the news goes public a footman at Buckingham Palace will emerge in mourning clothes to pin a black-edged notice of the Queen’s passing to the gates. As he does this, the palace website will be changed to one page in a sombre tribute to the Queen.
And from there follows the dawn of a new monarch, at this stage likely to be Charles, and days of mourning, funeral preparation and ultimately one of the biggest funerals the world has ever seen.
The full details are very long and complex, but if you’re up for the read, it’s available on The Guardian website.