What Happens When The Queen Dies | Vanity Fair

[Music] after nearly 66 years on the throne queen elizabeth ii is the longest reigning monarch in British history and has been a constant and calming force amidst the fast-paced changes her country is faced making it even more inconceivable to think about what happens when she dies born in 1926 she was expected to live a relatively normal life well normal at least by royal standards as third in line to the throne spending most of her early years out of the public eye everything changed in 1936 when her uncle King Edward the eighth abdicated the throne in order to marry his true love Wallis Simpson you see back then marrying a divorcee not to mention a two-time divorcée was a huge faux pas to the Church of England and just like that princess Elizabeth's father King George the six ascended to the throne making her the next in line and by 1952 following his death her time arrived and the rest is history when the Queen ascended to the throne in 1952 she was a head of state in seven countries the size of the Commonwealth has since expanded to 53 countries comprising nearly one-third of the world's population and still includes 16 countries where the monarch is officially the head of state this brings us to operation London Bridge the plan that no one wants to talk about the plan for what happens when the Queen dies no matter how secretive platinum palace may be about the plans that surround her death everyone knows exactly what to do and the plans which were uncovered by the Guardian are complex intricate and timed out to the exact minute phase one d-day according to the Guardian on the day the Queen dies Edward young the Queen's private secretary will be the first official to convey the news setting operation London Bridge into full gear and at the exact moment in which she passes Prince Charles will become King and Camilla will become queen fish who will explain that a bit later on a secure line young will directly inform the British Prime Minister that London bridges down and the news of her death will be distributed to various heads of state for forward is disclosed to the general public once the Prime Minister is alerted the Foreign Office's Global Response Center will alert the 15 governments where the Queen is still considered that of state from there the 37 nations where she still serves as a political figure head will also be informed after this the announcement of her death will be shared with both the UK's Press Association and the rest of the media outlets across the globe outside the palace the news crews will be able to assemble in a predetermined area next to the Canada Gate the same message will appear on the palaces web site on a dark background all the flags that the palace will be lowered and bells were told both houses of parliament are expected to gather within hours of her death and on the evening of his mother's death Charles will make his first address to the public as king now all of this is assuming that she dies in London if that's not the case here's how things would play out scenario 1 if the Queen dies abroad the Royal equivalent of Air Force One will fly a coffin to the location of her death accompanied by the Royal Undertaker's and returned the Queen's body to London scenario 2 if the Queen dies at her Sandringham Estate in Norfolk her body will return to London by car a few days after she passes scenario 3 the most intricate scenario of all is if the Queen passes while at the Balmoral Castle in Scotland where she spends the months a year Scottish rituals will play out before her body returns to London phase two d-day plus one flags will be raised the morning after her death and at 11 a.m. Charles the eldest male descendant of Queen Elizabeth will be proclaimed king at this point Charles has waited longer than anyone else in history to assume the throne phase 3 d + 1 through 12 following the first 24 hours after her death Great Britain will enter a 12 day mourning period culminating with the Queen's funeral King Charles will tour the country stopping in Edinburgh Belfast in Cardiff to appear at services to honor his mother during this time he will also meet with various elected leaders D plus 1 Westminster Hall will be closed for cleaning elaborate and lavish funeral preparations will begin d-plus for the coffin will be moved to Westminster Hall during a procession that is expected to take place throughout London when the coffin arrives Big Ben will chime her body will then lie in state for four days the Queen's old septum and the imperial crown will be placed on her coffin and visitors will be allowed to pay their respects for 23 hours a day d + 9 in the early hours of the morning the jewels will be cleaned before the funeral begins daily life will come to a halt in London businesses and stores will be closed Big Ben I am on the dot and the bells hammer will be covered with leather so that the bell rings and muffled tones throughout the remainder of the day d-plus 12 her coffin will then be moved into Westminster Abbey and the funeral will begin by 11 a.m. while the media will be allowed to film the services the faces of the Royals will not be shown during prayers after the funeral the same carriage that carried her father will return her body to her final resting place at Windsor Castle it's an understatement to say the Queen's death will mean huge changes for the House of Windsor as previously mentioned Prince Charles will become king so what happens to Camilla most royal experts believe that the Queen's death will technically make Camilla the queen consort but any speculation about her title is just that King Charles will ultimately make that official decision the Queen's death will move Charles's eldest son Prince William the Duke of Cambridge up in the line of succession to heir apparent after that William's three children will fill the line in their birth order this includes his daughter thanks to a 2011 vote by the British Commonwealth Princess Charlotte will be second in line following her big brother George so what does this mean for Prince Harry Charles's youngest back in 2013 before the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge had children Prince Harry was third in line to the throne now Prince Harry is 6 followed by any children he and Megan Markham may have and last but not least there's brexit the truth of the matter is that the monarch has little to do with the UK leaving the European Union but considering all of the change that will come from a departure from the EU the monarchy may be the last standing and the most stable institution left [Music]

Channel: Vanity Fair

Views: 11,793,465

Rating: 4.846868 out of 5

Keywords: london, prince charles, prince harry, queen elizabeth ii, the queen, uk, operation london bridge, the royals, royal family, queen, queen elizabeth, queen dies, queen dead, what happens when the queen dies, united kingdom, the queen elizabeth, elizabeth ii, queen elizabeth dead, queen elizabeth death, death of queen elizabeth, queen elizabeth ii death, things that will happen when queen elizabeth dies, queen death, elizabeth dead, vanity fair

Id: v61JI6h423E

Length: 7min 7sec (427 seconds)

Published: Thu Aug 16 2018

Reddit Comments

[u/insanityarise]

"Daily life will come to a halt in London, businesses and stores will be closed."

Somehow I doubt this.

[u/nick47H]

Charly boy will become king, some thing noone wants.

[u/lucasteh5th]

Big Ben just fucking explodes

[u/secaedelcielo]

Why did they need to throw in Brexit at the end? Smh.

[u/tighter_wires]

The Universe will have already ceased to exist, so nothing will happen.

[u/ILOVEGLADOS]

Minor correction - the Royal Standard will not be lowered, even on the day of the Queen's death as there is always a living monarch. The monarchy is continuous.