Elizabeth II has died at her residence in Balmoral (Scotland) and the so-called London Bridge Operation has automatically been launched and, with it, the so-called Unicorn, the millimetrically designed preparations since the 1960s for this day.
Euskaraz irakurri: “London Bridge is Down”: Elizabeth II.aren heriotzarako prestatutako egitasmoak, martxan
Isabel II has died at his Balmoral residence (Scotland) and automatically the so-called London Bridge Operation has been launched and, with it, the so-called Unicorn, the millimetrically orchestrated preparations designed since the 1960s for this day of national mourning.
As the death has occurred in Balmoral and not in London, the so-called Operation Unicorn is activated, another planned mechanism that marks the steps to be followed in Scotland to transfer the body of the queen to the British capital, where the funeral would be officiated.
Edward Young, private secretary to the queen and the main person in charge of organizing her succession, was the first person to receive the news.
The plans drawn up foresee that Young notify the prime minister, Liz Truss with a phrase: “London Bridge is Down” (“The London Bridge has fallen”).
From there, the British Ministry of Foreign Affairs is in charge of transferring the news to the 15 governments outside the country where the queen is head of state, and the other 38 nations of the Commonwealth of Nations.
The London Bridge operation contemplates the events that will take place in the next ten daysfrom the so-called D-Day (the day of death).
The ministers have been notified immediately by email and after that message the flags at the Government headquarters have been lowered to half-staff, less than ten minutes after the announcement.
the british agency Press Association (PA) has been in charge of spreading the news with a news flash, after which a palace servant has crossed the courtyard of Buckingham Palace to hang the “official notification” of the death on the doors.
The parliaments, both in London and the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish, have suspended their sessions and the website of the Royal Family has gone black with the statement.
Truss is in charge of giving the first message to the nation after the death.
A minute of national silence is then announced and the prime minister holds an audience with the new king, which sets in motion the Operation Spring Tide (“Spring Tide”), which regulates the ascension of the monarch.
Carlos, the heir, will give a message to the nation on the day of his death.
A memorial service for the Queen will be held with the Prime Minister at St Paul’s Cathedral.
Image: Reuters
The funeral
The first plans for the preparations for the death of Elizabeth II date back to the 60’s although modifications have been introduced, with meetings two or three times a year between various Government departments, the Police, the Army, the media and the Royal Park Association.
The next day the flags will be waved again and at 11:00 Carlos would be proclaimed king in a ceremony at St James’s dressed with all the pomp that the occasion deserves, in which a palace official will read a formal declaration and in which Charles will swear to protect the Church in Scotland.
Parliament will meet to agree on a message of condolences and for MPs to pay tribute to Her Majesty in the Commons. All parliamentary activity will be suspended for ten days.
Operation Unicorn
After dying in Scotland, the body of the queen will initially be transferred to the seat of the Scottish Parliament, Holyrood Palace, where all types of parliamentary activity will be automatically interrupted and a book of condolences will be made available to citizens.
The next step will be to move the body, along the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, to St Giles Cathedral, where it will lie in the funeral chapel and where a first service will be held.
for the call D-Day+2 It is contemplated that the queen’s coffin will be transferred to Buckingham Palace, in London, from Balmoral by train, from Waverley station, what has been called Operation Unicorn, the protocol contemplated if the queen dies in Scotland.
According to this script, the day D+3the new British monarch will embark on a tour of the country, where he will visit Edinburgh, Belfast and Cardiff and attend services in memory of his mother.
For the so-called D+5 (day 6 after death), the coffin will be transferred to Westminster Hall, where it will lie for four days until the moment of the procession from Buckingham Palace, which will cross the Mall -the first great military parade of this operation- will pass by the Horse Guards and by the Cenotaph.
The day of the funeral –D+10-, at 9:00 in the morning, Big Ben will be heard to announce the state funeral for the queen at Westminster Abbey, which will host 2,000 guests.
It is expected that at 11:00 a.m. the coffin reaches the doors of the temple and that the country falls silent as a sign of respect. The remains of him will lie in the Chapel of King George VI, in Windsor Castle, next to his father.
Source: Eitb
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