Death of Elizabeth II: "London Bridge", a detailed protocol until the funeral of the queen
The British flag at half mast on the Palace of Westminster, London, September 8, 2022. AP - Alberto Pezzali
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
The United Kingdom began a period of mourning on Thursday after the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
The famous operation “
London Bridge is down
” (“The London Bridge has collapsed”), which sets a very detailed roadmap for the days to come, has been triggered.
And it is a historical sequence that is launched.
Advertising
Read more
Everything had been foreseen in every detail by the “
London Bridge
” plan, including the possibility of a death in Scotland.
The queen having died at Balmoral Castle
, it is the operation nicknamed Unicorn – after the unicorn which appears on the Scottish coat of arms – which will be applied in the first days.
Back in London, King Charles is expected to finalize the final details of the funeral, the length of mourning for the royal family and the government will confirm the length of national mourning, likely twelve to thirteen days.
The body of Elizabeth II will be transported to Holyroodhouse, the Queen's official residence in Edinburgh, on Sunday, where it will rest for at least 24 hours.
The coffin will then be transferred to St. Giles Cathedral for a mass and will be flown back to London on Tuesday, where it will be laid in the Throne Room at Buckingham Palace.
Ceremony at Westminster Abbey
A week from now, a public tribute will be held at the Palace of Westminster as the government prepares for the state funeral.
The queen's remains will be displayed for four or five days on a purple-draped catafalque.
The public can come and gather there 23 hours a day.
The ceremony should take place ten days after his death at Westminster Abbey.
The coffin should arrive there followed by the family on foot.
The country will then freeze for two minutes of silence.
It will be a public holiday: the London Stock Exchange and all businesses will be closed.
The bells of Big Ben and around 16,000 churches across the country will ring in tribute to the Queen.
►Also read: Death of Elizabeth II: the long and not so quiet reign of a popular queen
Buried alongside Prince Philip
After the ceremony, the coffin will be transferred to King George VI Chapel at Windsor Castle, where Elizabeth II will rest alongside her husband Prince Philip, who died in April last year.
As for his successor, his eldest son,
he will be officially proclaimed king under the name of Charles III
this Friday at Saint-James Palace, in the presence in particular of Prime Minister Liz Truss.
Newsletter
Receive all the international news directly in your mailbox
I subscribe
Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application
UK
Elizabeth II
On the same subject
Elizabeth II, privileged witness to the end of the British Empire and African independence
Reportage
Death of Elizabeth II: the British mourn the death of their queen
Accents of Europe
Death of Elizabeth II: the embodiment of almost 96 years of European history