GettyOn the fateful day that the Queen passes on, the country will enter a twelve day period of mourning affecting pretty much everything from what’s on the telly to the financial markets.
Depending on how Liz dies there are two ways it could be announced. The first is that she dies after a period of long illness, which will see the BBC – and most likely every other channel in the UK – disrupt their planned programming to announce her passing.
The Beeb will also cancel every comedy programme planned until after her funeral.
Wikimedia CommonsIf she dies unexpectedly – like in an accident – then the palace will do their best to control the announcement but it will likely spread over social media like wildfire.
Upon her death Prince Charles will, finally, become King Charles III and new stamps and currency will be produced with his mug on it and of course, the national anthem will be changed as well.
MPs will have to swear their loyalty to the new monarch (republicans are allowed to cross their fingers) and Prince William will ascend the royal ladder to become the Prince of Wales.
GettyBefore she’s buried, most likely at Balmoral, Sandringham or beside her father at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor, the Queen’s body will lie in state in Westminster Hall.
The hall will be open for 23 hours a day until the funeral and it’s expected the number of mourners will be in the hundreds of thousands based on previous royal funerals.
Twelve days after her death her state funeral will begin with her coffin being taken to Westminster Abbey by gun carriage to a service led by the Archbishop of Canterbury.
It’s expected that a number of heads of state will attend, while members of the public will line the route.
GettyHowever, the Queen’s death will have wider impacts including questions over the future of the monarchy, with many people believing it to be an outdated institution, and whether the 52 countries she rules over will sever ties.
Another part of the meticulous procedure for when a monarch dies is the use of a codeword.
The code word, which is to be told to the Prime Minister, is ‘London Bridge is down’.
Apparently, if our Queen passes away during the night, the Prime Minister is to be woken up and told this phrase by civil servants.
If I had just woken up and someone told me London Bridge was down, I would definitely just think the bridge had fallen.
I’d like to know why a bridge was chosen to represent the Queen…
WikimediaAfter the PM is told, the same message gets passed to the other nations in the Commonwealth who regard the Queen as their figurehead.
In the modern day of social media though, it won’t take long for the message to be broadcast all over the world.
