12 Days of Mourning Following the Death of Queen Elizabeth II
Posted on 9th September 2022 at 10:41
September 8th 2022, is a date that will be remembered by us all for the rest of our lives. This was the day the longest reigning monarch in our history sadly passed away.
Queen Elizabeth II ruled Britain and the Commonwealth for 70 years until she peacefully passed away at the age of 96.
With this being such an unprecedented occurrence in most of our lifetimes, it is expected to bring about a lot of uncertainty regarding what happens next.
Operation Unicorn
For centuries, the passing of a monarch triggers a period of national mourning. This is a 12-day period where we transition to a new monarch and allow the nation to properly grieve the loss of the Queen.
The Queen passed away in Scotland, which means that “Operation Unicorn” began – this is a chain of events that begins with Scottish Parliament being suspended to prepare for a state funeral.
Her Majesty’s body will then be transported to the Palace of Holyroodhouse. After this her coffin will be carried to St Gile’s Cathedral before making her last trip on the Royal Train down to London.
There is a process for how the news is delivered; the Prime Minister will be informed by the Queen’s private secretary, then the leaders of the commonwealth countries, followed by other world leaders.
12 Days of Mourning
The official 12 day period of mourning will begin immediately and will end on Monday 19th September, which is also the day of the state funeral. The day after the death of the sovereign will see the new King deliver his first televised broadcast.
The Queen’s death is known as D-Day. Each day after will be known as D+1, D+2 etc. until the funeral.
During the period of mourning Union Jacks will be flown at half-mast across the country, gun salutes and bells will be heard, and books of condolences will be opened worldwide for people to sign.
Friday 9th September will be known as D+0, and on D+1 the Accession Council meets to officially crown the King. Members of parliament will swear allegiance to the new King.
D+2 will see proclamations made by the administrations of the other home nations and the King will then begin a tour of the United Kingdom, attending services in Belfast, Edinburgh and Cardiff.
On D+7 The Queen’s coffin will arrive in London at the Palace of Westminster, where it will stay for three days.
D+10 will be the day of the state funeral at Westminster Abbey. The service will be shown on television and a two-minute silence will be observed across the nation.
Effect on Daily Life
During the period of mourning things will be slightly different.
The BBC will suspend all regular coverage to show the funeral and all comedy programming during the 12 das will be suspended.
Elsewhere, theatres will continue to stick to their regular schedule, but lights will be dimmed and a minute silence will be observed before performances.
On the day of the funeral, a national day of mourning will be declared and all sporting fixtures will be postponed. Shops may close, the London Stock Exchange will close for the day (maybe longer), and the strike action planned by the Royal Mail and RMT rail workers has been suspended.
Above are the formalities and the rules that are in place. There is no right or wrong way for people to mourn and we hope that anyone reading this understands the magnitude of what this means for the world. Society, culture, the entire world has changed so much in the last 70 years and The Queen was leading us through all of it, with grace, pride and humility.
R.I.P
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