Operation London Bridge

Why “London Bridge is Down” is a phrase that might be uttered soon by our friends across the pond

Photo by Robert Tudor on Unsplash

In Great Britain, there have been names and phrases used when a member of the royal family passes away. When Queen Elizabeth the II’s father, King George the VI, passed away, the code “Hyde Park Corner” was used to convey the message.

In 2021, Operation Forth Bridge was used to enact the plan for Prince Philip after his death and if the current Prince of Wales passed away like it was thought he did in a 1980s avalanche, his plan will be called Operation Menai Bridge.

Operation London Bridge is an operation first planned in the 1960s that will start when the current monarch passes away. You may have seen articles on it given the recent news that the Queen is feeling ill at her summer home of Balmoral.

When this happens, her Private Secretary will say the words “London Bridge is down.” He will alert the Prime Minister, Liz Truss, and then the rest of the commonwealth.

After that, the BBC will report on the death not unlike this announcement about the Duke of Edinburgh.

For those not in the news media and unfamiliar with how this works, most news organizations have an obituary package ready for most public figures. That there was not one ready for Kobe Bryant at my old employer hopefully conveys the shock at that death.

For more on Operation London Bridge, here is this video from Vanity Fair: