Elizabeth II

1. About

• Elizabeth is the first child of the Duke and Duchess of York, who will become King George VI, and Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother.
• In 1947 Princess Elizabeth married Prince Philip at Westminster Abbey.
• She was crowned at Westminster Abbey on June 2, 1953, in front of 8,500 assembled guests.
• She became the first monarch in British history to rule for 70 years.
• She is also Head of the Commonwealth and Supreme Governor of the Church of England. In 1945, she actively joined World War II as a driver in the Women’s Auxiliary Territorial Service (WATS)

2. Contemporary situation

• Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s longest-reigning monarch and a rock of stability across much of a turbulent century died Thursday after 70 years on the throne. She was 96.
• The palace announced she died at Balmoral Castle, her summer residence in Scotland, where members of the royal family had rushed to her side after her health took a turn for the worse. A link to the almost-vanished generation that fought World War II, she was the only monarch most Britons have ever known, and her name defines an age: the modern Elizabethan Era.
• The impact of her loss will be huge and unpredictable, both for the nation and for the monarchy, an institution she helped stabilize and modernize across decades of huge social change and family scandals. With the death of the queen, her 73-year-old son Charles automatically becomes monarch, though the coronation might not take place for months.

3. The tenure served by the queen

• She endured through 15 prime ministers, from Winston Churchill to Liz Truss, becoming an institution and an icon — a fixed point and a reassuring presence even for those who ignored or loathed the monarchy. 
• She became less visible in her final years as age and frailty curtailed many public appearances. 
• But she remained firmly in control of the monarchy and at the centre of national life as Britain celebrated her Platinum Jubilee with days of parties and pageants in June 2022. 
• The same month she became the second longest-reigning monarch in history, behind 17th-century French King Louis XIV, who took the throne at age 4. On Sept. 6, 2022, she presided at a ceremony at Balmoral Castle to accept the resignation of Boris Johnson as prime minister and appoint Truss as his successor.

4. What is Operation London Bridge

• The plan to deal with the death of the head of state in Britain was termed Operation London Bridge, and was first reported by The Guardian in 2017, and later by Politico in 2021.
• According to The Guardian, the London Bridge plan factored in the eventuality of her passing at Balmoral. The part of the plan for her death at her favourite castle in Scotland was codenamed ‘Operation Unicorn’.
• These protocols are a detailed script for key logistical matters and procedures, including the funeral procession.

5. Protocols after death

• As per the plan, after informing the British PM, the information about the Queen’s death has already been conveyed to other governments where she was the head of state, and then to 38 other nations of the Commonwealth.
• Also, Queen’s death means that Prince Charles immediately becomes King and head of state for 14 Commonwealth realms. However, an official proclamation will only be made a day after the Queen’s death. 
• This, according to the BBC, will happen at St James’s Palace in London, in front of a ceremonial body known as the Accession Council.