Key Points
- Royal protocol and tradition dictate there will be a seamless transition to a new monarch and order.
- The rigorously planned and rehearsed Operation London Bridge, first formulated in the 1960s, should now be in play.
The death of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II means in one sense a step into the unknown, but in another, royal protocol and tradition dictate there will be a seamless transition to a new monarch and order.
The rigorously planned and rehearsed Operation London Bridge, first formulated in the 1960s, should now be in play, although Operation Unicorn - the plan for if the Queen died in Scotland - will take effect first.
, her home in Scotland where she spends three months of the year, on Thursday (Friday morning Australian time). She was 96.
The Queen’s body is expected to rest in Holyroodhouse, the royal palace in Edinburgh, then a cathedral in the city, before being transported by the Royal Train to London.
Queen Elizabeth II in April 2022. Credit: WPA Pool/Getty Images
Within minutes of the news of her death, flags in the UK were lowered to half-mast and around the world.
Elizabeth II's son, Charles, 73, is already king, and is now known as King Charles III.
As heir to the throne, he assumed the title upon his mother’s death The protocol around his accession to the throne has been named Operation Spring Tide.
Prince Charles is now King Charles III. Credit: PA Wire/Jacob King
Within 24 hours, the Accession Council is set to meet at St James’s Palace in London and he’ll be proclaimed Charles III.
Queen to lie in state
On D+5, the Queen’s body will be taken roughly 1600m from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall at the UK Parliament to lie in state for four days ahead of her funeral.
The hall will be open 23 hours a day for members of the public and VIPs to view her coffin, and, hundreds of thousands of people for whom physically the Queen has only ever been an image on a television screen, will now have the chance to pay their respects in person.
Across the UK, and the world, condolence books will be placed in buildings such as town halls - the level of planning detail extends to recommendations the books be loose-leaf, so distasteful remarks can be removed.
Flowers carpet the ground outside London's Kensington Palace after Princess Diana's death in 1997. Credit: Michael Stephens/PA
One key difference between then and now is the age of social media, adding extra layers to what will be blanket mainstream media coverage.
People wanting to express their views, both positive and negative, of the Queen will all have a potential platform.
The Queen's state funeral is expected to be held at Westminster Abbey.
Ahead of the funeral, European royalty, other esteemed guests and representatives of the 15 countries in which the Queen is head of state, plus the other 39 member countries of the Commonwealth, will start arriving in London.
In the lead-up to the funeral, on D+6, there'll be a rehearsal of the funeral procession.
On the day, D+10, deemed an official Day of Mourning in the UK, the Queen’s coffin, escorted on foot by members of the Royal Family, will be transferred the few hundred metres from Westminster Hall to Westminster Abbey.
Mourners file past the coffin of the Queen Mother in Westminster Hall following her death in 2002. Credit: Getty Images/Getty Images
At the start of the funeral service, the UK will fall silent for two minutes as it remembers its longest-serving monarch.
Following the funeral, the coffin will be placed on the same gun carriage that was used for her father, King George VI, and pulled by 138 junior sailors.
At Hyde Park Corner, the coffin will be transferred to a hearse and driven 34km on roads lined with hundreds of thousands of people to Windsor Castle, where there will be a private committal service.
Elizabeth II is expected to be buried in the King George VI memorial chapel at St George’s Chapel, with her husband Prince Philip, and her father King George VI.
Charles is expected to start a tour of the UK, visiting Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales to meet his new subjects.
His coronation is expected in a matter of months, after what is deemed an appropriate period of mourning for the Queen.
He will also assume the Queen’s title of the monarch of Australia, and the role of appointing the governor-general and state governors on the advice of federal and state politicians.
