The Queen's 'London Bridge' code name became one of the worst-kept secrets when it was leaked to the press in 2021, with palace aids said to be furious that top-secret papers detailing plans for the Queen’s death were in the public domain.
But not many people know the Queen, while known as Her Majesty to members of the public, was called Sharon by aides and bodyguards when she was out and about in a bid in a bid to protect her identity, a palace insider has claimed.
It's not known what the King Charles is known as when he's out and about, but the Prince and Princess of Wales are simply known as 'Daphne Clark' and 'Danny Collins and 'Davina Scott' and 'David Stevens' were used for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex while they were working Royals, although that may well have changed now.
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Although the bridge code names in place in the event of the younger Royals' deaths are unknown, apparently their aides and bodyguards use the alternative names when they talk about them and their phone numbers are saved under these code names too. A Royal source told The Star : “If anyone got hold of a phone belonging to a royal aide or security team member, they won’t find Harry Windsor and Meghan’s names in it."
But while working code names are kept top secret and changed regularly, code names for the death of senior members of the Royal family are much more widely known. The codes for royal deaths were initially introduced to prevent the news of a royal family member’s death leaking before the official announcement. Using code prevented Buckingham Palace switchboard operators learning of the news before it was made public. However, most royal funeral plans have been so longstanding that the codenames have become common knowledge.
Prince Philip’s was Operation Forth Bridge, the Queen's was Operation London Bridge and King Charles's is Operation Menai Bridge.
The “operations” are detailed plans regarding funerals, resting places, mourning periods and family commitments. Such details are meant to remain private and embargoed - as they were when the Duke of Edinburgh died in April 2021 - but the code names are fairly widely known.
When the Queen passed away on September 8, her private secretary would have informed those who must be the first to know, including the Prime Minister, Liz Truss. Planned protocol then launched into action with the declaration that “London Bridge is down”, and the day will have been known in Whitehall as “D-Day”.
The blueprint meticulously chronicled preparations for the 10 days from the monarch’s passing to her state funeral at Westminster Abbey today, and covered everything from Charles’ "mourning tour" of the UK to what royals will post on social media.
Code names have been used for royal deaths for decades. In 1952, the death of King George VI was declared under the cipher Hyde Park Corner, but since the late 20th century, they have been named after prominent UK bridges, often with connection to the person they are assigned to.
The Queen Mother’s was Operation Tay Bridge - named after the railway crossing between Dundee and Fife. It was reportedly rehearsed for 22 years before its eventual use for the Queen Mother in 2002, although it was also used for Princess Diana's unexpected death in 1997, meaning that Queen Elizabeth’s mother attended a ceremony which she knew would be very similar to her own. Almost one million people lined the streets during the Queen Mother's funeral, when her coffin was carried on a gun carriage draped in her personal standard and supported by 1,600 members of the armed forces, with all the male members of the Royal Family following immediately after the coffin.
The secret code for Prince Philip’s death was Operation Forth Bridge, from the suspension bridge linking Edinburgh to Fife. The Duke of Edinburgh was thoroughly involved in the planning for his “operation” before he died last year, and the arrival of his coffin in a specially-adapted Land Rover at St George’s Chapel in Windsor was his specific instruction.
The code name for the Prince of Wales’ death is Menai Bridge and is also named after a suspension bridge, this time the one in Wales which connects the Welsh mainland and the island of Anglesey. Fans of The Crown will have noticed that when Prince Charles has a brush with death following an avalanche on a ski resort, his handlers use the term 'Operation Menai Bridge' to signal his presumed death.
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