On Thursday morning, Buckingham Palace announced that longtime British monarch Queen Elizabeth’s health had seemingly deteriorated.
News of the Queen’s failing health, followed by the gathering of her immediate family, prompted mass speculation that the 96-year-old monarch was gravely ill. Later Thursday, the Royal Family confirmed that the monarch had died at the royal estate in Balmoral, Scotland.
According to The Independent, Operation Unicorn involves:
- Suspending the Scottish Parliament.
- Transporting the body to the Holyroodhouse, the official Scottish royal residence, and then St. Giles Cathedral.
- Bringing the body back to London aboard the family’s Royal Train.
In 2017, The Guardian UK detailed the intricate Domino effect put in place in the 1960s to notify the U.K. — in expanding concentric circles — of the death of a monarch.
Once the appropriate parties within various governments are notified, the public will be next:
- A royal staffer will post a notice outside the gates of Buckingham Palace.
- An alert will go out to global news services.
- The BBC will activate its “radio alert transmission system” or “Rats” alarm to alert its newsroom.
- Blue “Obit lights” will illuminate U.K. radio stations to notify them of the death of a monarch.