Queen Elizabeth and the royal family are to be evacuated from Buckingham Palace if there is major social unrest in London following Brexit, according to a shock report in top UK newspaper The Times.
The report comes as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson moved to suspend Parliament after receiving Royal Ascent from Her Majesty. The controversial action will reduce the possibility of dissenting MPs stopping Brexit on October 31.
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The move, which has infuriated many anti-Brexit campaigners, comes amid fears of travel and trade chaos, and even fevered speculation about possible serious shortages of food, medicines and essentials after Britain leaves the European Union.
Now The Times reports that royal evacuation protocols, which were first put in place during the Cuban Missile Crisis, are being updated in case there is serious rioting and civil disorder.
‘These emergency evacuation plans have been in existence since the Cold War, but have now been repurposed in the event of civil disorder following a no-deal Brexit,’ an unnamed Cabinet Office member told The Times.
Dai Davies, a former policeman once in charge of royal protection told the paper: ‘If there were problems in London, clearly you would remove the royal family away from those key sites.’
The report has raised eyebrows in Britain, with the expectation that the Royal Family would never leave the palace. They famously mostly stayed in the capital during The Blitz in World War II.
The palace has not commented on the report, most likely as it covers security arrangements.
It is unknown if the royals are stockpiling tinned food, medicines and toilet paper, like some of their more cautious – or panicky, or smart – subjects have been.
Let’s hope it never comes to an evacuation.