Ben Shephard has discussed the "protocol" for the Queen’s death and admitted he and his Good Morning Britain colleagues had been rehearsing what to do in the event of her passing for more than a decade.
On Thursday (September 8), Buckingham Palace announced Queen Elizabeth II had died aged 96, ending her 70-year reign as Britain’s monarch. Speaking to broadcaster Andrew Marr on Monday, Ben, 47, revealed he had been well prepared should Her Majesty pass away mid-broadcast.
Former BBC presenter Andrew, 63, was hosting his LBC radio show when the announcement was made and struggled to contain his emotions as he broke the news to his listeners. Discussing the moment, Ben said: “It's gripping to listen to because of course you're doing what great broadcasters do and you're talking about something you can feel is coming but you don't know when it's going to happen.
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“And obviously, the news comes through whilst you're live, whilst you're talking and then you have to interrupt yourself.”
Ben then revealed how the team behind the ITV morning show had been preparing for the sad yet inevitable moment for more than 10 years. He said: “All of us here at various times over the last 10/15 years have rehearsed for this. We'll plan what's going to happen - there's a protocol about it all.
“But the reality of that moment for all of us has struck really hard.”
Discussing how he felt having to interrupt his broadcast to break the news of the monarch’s death, Andrew said: “We all knew it was going to happen. Of course, it wasn't a surprise, she was 96.
“We're all human and all that. And yet it wasn't a surprise, but it was a shock. And that I think is because we've lived all our lives of the Queen as part of the backdrop. She's always been there.
“It's like part of the landscape has suddenly been removed.”
Following Her Majesty’s death, her son King Charles III addressed Parliament for the first time as monarch on Monday, as he appeared at London’s Westminster Hall to receive condolences from MPs and peers. The King will now travel to Edinburgh where he will lead the royal family in the procession of the Queen’s coffin as it is moved from the Palace of Holyroodhouse to St Giles’ Cathedral.
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