Queen Elizabeth II, Britain's longest-serving monarch, has died at the age of 96, after 70 years of reign in Scotland. She died at Balmoral Castle, her beloved summer home in the Scottish Highlands.
Many of her four children, eight grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren were present at Balmoral or on their way there, including her son Prince Charles, their heir to the throne.
There is a plan in place for what happens next- Operation London Bridge. Operation Unicorn, the codename for the plans in Scotland, is not a secret plan and was devised in the 1960s for the first time.
The plan includes instructions for how the for the news of her passing away is to be communicated, the period of mourning, funeral, and succession plans.
The news will be first communicated by her private secretary, who would call up the Prime Minister to call upon the London Bridge plan. The BBC, which is the national broadcaster of the UK, will activate an alarm for national emergencies.
The funeral will be held at Westminster Hall and will take place on the ninth day.
The Queen's body will be brought to Westminster Hall from Buckingham Palace, four days from today. She will lie in state for the next four days for public homage, starting with important persons and the commoners at last.
She will be buried at Windsor Castle next to her husband, Prince Philip, and her father, King George VI.
Queen Elizabeth, who ascended the throne on the death of her father on February 6, 1952, was the longest serving monarch in the world.
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