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Even before his cancer diagnosis, King Charles had funeral plans in place. In fact, members of the royal family have codenames for their death plans, often years or even decades in advance of when it happens.
When he was Prince Charles, his codename was Operation Menai Bridge, after a landmark suspension bridge in Wales. But a new book has revealed that it’s been changed to Operation London Bridge now that he is King Charles III.
Written by Robert Hardman, Charles III: New King. New Court. The Inside Story. includes details of changes to the codename for King Charles’s funeral plans, as well as others in the royal family.
According to Hardman, after becoming king, Charles’ codename was “upgraded to Operation London Bridge, mirroring those of Elizabeth II”. And Prince William, as the current Prince of Wales, has inherited his father’s previous codename, Operation Menai Bridge.
“With Queen Elizabeth II, planning began in earnest for her farewell a good 20 years earlier with what was known as Operation London Bridge,” Hardman said in an interview with HELLO! “That was the title that the previous Duke of Norfolk gave to the funeral plans for the monarch, with other funeral plans for other members of the family, given different bridge designations.”
What happens when King Charles dies?
Official details about the monarch’s funeral plans are typically kept quiet until they are needed. However, what we do know is that there were plans for King Charles’ eventual death before the late Queen Elizabeth II died. Those plans became more important after his coronation, and then his cancer diagnosis.
While the king seems in good health at the moment, planning for his death and funeral is quite a big task that could take years to organise.
“The fact is anything that’s going to involve thousands of troops, a large part of the police and all the other services, and all the broadcasters and media, you’ve got to have a few plans,” Hardman told HELLO!
But, even though the process for King Charles’ death and funeral is likely to be similar to the late Queen Elizabeth II’s when it happens, there have been rumours that his funeral plans are already “tearing the royal family apart”. In particular, when it comes to crowning Prince William and Princess Catherine the new king and queen.
According to a report in The Daily Beast, many people thought King Charles III would live to a similar age as his mother and father, who were 96 and 99 respectively when they died. That would also mean he’d have around 20 years on the throne. But his cancer diagnoses challenged those assumptions, and one royal insider told the publication it was especially concerning for Prince Harry.
“He thought he might have 20 years with his father as the ultimate authority to mend those broken bridges,” the source said. They also went on to say that it was unlikely Harry would have written his book, Spare if he thought Prince William and Kate could become king and queen in less time.
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