Operation “London Bridge”, the complex program for the sovereign’s funeral, joins the preparations for her Jubilee. And the church bells are equipped with “muffles” to ring quietly
On 21 April she will turn 96 and if her health has been exceptional so far, Queen Elizabeth of England is beginning to blame advanced age. During a video call to inaugurate a new unit of the Royal London Hospital, she revealed to those present that she is suffering from a form of long Covid after contracting the virus in February. “This horrible pandemic. The virus leaves you very tired and exhausted, doesn’t it? ”She asked other patients and nurses. It is precisely the exhaustion caused by Sars-Cov-2 could be one of the reasons for the many cancellations of events that have recently rained on the queen’s agenda. And in the last few weeks the preparations for the “Tower Bridge” operation (the communication in code to announce the death of the sovereign with the solemn organization of her funeral) have been bitterly intensified together with those of her Platinum Jubilee -70 years of reign – scheduled for June. Given Elizabeth’s poor health, the churches of the kingdom are preparing.
The UK bells silenced
In recent weeks, the small leather shops of the country have seen themselves invaded by orders for the “muffles” to match the 16 thousand bells from all over Great Britain: leather accessories to be tied around the clapper of the bells to make them sound muted , a sign of respect for the mourning of the royal family. They are special products, and the skilled leather craftsmen who still produce them have seen their orders double from one month to the next, as stated above. Mail on Sunday. «Applying the muffles makes the sound of the bells muffled, almost a hum, rather than a trill. More suited to the period of mourning, ”explained Vicki Chapman, spokesperson for the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers, the British association of bell ringers. English churches have not used the mute since the death of King George VI, father of Elizabeth, in 1952. Since then the old leather devices have fallen into disrepair and new ones are needed. Each bell needs two muffles (cost around 100 euros).
The health of the Queen
There is no doubt that the death of his wife, Prince Philip, which took place last year, contributed to the deterioration of the health of the elderly long Covid sovereign is not the only ailment to worry about. The queen has had mobility problems for some time, due to pain in her legs and back. During the commemoration mass for her husband Philip she walked very slowly leaning on a stick. She left Buckingham Palace for Windsor Castle and has not moved to her various residences in six months.
The transfer of William and Kate
Just to be close to the Queen in this delicate moment soon Kate Middleton and William of England will move with their children to Windsor. For now the Cambridge are divided between Kensington Palace in London (where the children go to school) and Anmer Hall, the their country residence in Norfolk. But after what happened between the sovereign and her son, they are ready to move. It is said that he travels between his rooms in a wheelchair, but he would never be seen in public so fragile. To move around the castle estate, she was given a golf buggy, an electric car worth over 70,000 euros, with four seats and a range of 80 kilometers. In this way the sovereign can accompany her beloved corgi dogs out of her.
“London Bridge is down”
«London Bridge is down», London Bridge has fallen. This is the coded communication to announce the death of the sovereign. The plan was originally created in the 1960s and has been updated several times over the years. The organization involves government departments, the Metropolitan Police Service, the British Armed Forces, the Church of England, the media and the Royal Parks of London. Some key decisions regarding the plan have been made by the Queen herself although some of them can only be made by her successor after her death.
In the hours following the Queen’s death, a series of cascading calls will take place to inform, in order, the Prime Minister, the Cabinet Secretary (Britain’s highest official) and some of the senior ministers and officials. The prime minister, for example, will be informed by the queen’s private secretary (who will notify him via a secure telephone line by uttering the phrase “London Bridge is down” which will also speak to the private council office, which coordinates the work of the government on behalf of the Subsequently, the office of the Foreign Ministry will begin to communicate the news to the governments of the 51 member states of the Commonwealth of Nations, of which the queen is officially the head (at first only 15 countries will receive the news, then we will proceed by notifying the other 36 states.) Internally, the day will be called “D-Day”. The days following the funeral will be “D + 1”, “D + 2” and so on.
Immediately after the announcement, a servant dressed in mourning will hang a sign also listed in mourning with the news of the Queen’s death at the gates of Buckingham Palace and at the same time the official website of the Royal Palace will also show the same news. The same will happen for all government departments’ social media pages which will also change their profile pictures with their departmental crest. Parliament will be called back immediately and if possible will meet within an hour to hear the message addressed by the prime minister to the House of Commons.
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