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news
Queen Elizabeth II (licensed by Foreign & Commonwealth Office under Open Government Licence v1.0)Queen Elizabeth II dies at age 96
Buckingham Palace has announced this evening that Her Majesty the Queen has died peacefully at the age of 96 at Balmoral Castle, Aberdeenshire.
Her children – her successor the Prince of Wales, now King Charles, the Princess Royal, the Duke of York and the Earl of Wessex – flying to Scotland this afternoon to be at her bedside after it had been revealed earlier in the day that doctors were closely monitoring her condition.
And with BBC News and other outlets striking a sombre tone with blanket coverage and presenters dressed in black, many people commenting on social media from around the world had feared the worst.
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II acceded to the throne in 1952 following the death of her father, King George VI, and was crowned at Westminster Abbey the following year and celebrated her Platinum Jubilee earlier this year.
The UK’s longest-serving monarch, she was a constant presence in the UK and other dependencies, territories and, as head of state, Commonwealth Countries around the world for more than seven decades.
As such, her death, while not unexpected given her declining health in recent months, will send shockwaves through those countries, and nowhere more so than in the UK.
In 2017, the Guardian published an article detailing longstanding plans codenamed Operation London Bridge of what would happen after her death, with her funeral scheduled to take place at Westminster Abbey on the ninth day following the one on which it was announced, with today counting as Day 0.
In accordance with that timetable, it would therefore happen on Saturday 17 September.
Ahead of the funeral, a large part of central London would be closed down to enable preparations to be made for her lying in state in Westminster Hall – the oldest part of the Palace of Westminster, situated on Parliament Square – and the funeral itself, which would follow a route from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey via the Mall and Horse Guards Parade.
What that means in practical terms will be that a number of roads in the centre of the capital will be closed, some for possibly several weeks, and we would expect Transport for London to confirm exact details of those closures shortly.
They would certainly include the central section of the protected Cycleway 3, the route of which passes both Buckingham Palace and Parliament Square, as well as Wellington Barracks where many of the troops who provide ceremonial duties in London are based.
And while the Guardian article that we linked above reports that under Operation London Bridge there is no official obligation for sporting fixtures to be cancelled or abandoned, the likelihood is that some organisers or national federations may decide to do so unilaterally.
That of course has implications for the Tour of Britain, which is due to end on the Isle of Wight on Sunday, and we have contacted organisers of the race to clarify the situation.
According to that same Guardian article, “All games, including golf, will be banned in the Royal Parks” – although it is unclear whether that would also apply to recreational cycling, with London’s Richmond and Regent’s Park both hugely popular with road cyclists, often riding together as members of clubs or in informal chain gangs.
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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30 comments
My takeaway from this brillaint article was:
" informal chain gangs"
D'you wanna be in my gang
My gang, my gang
D'you wanna be in my gang
Oh yeah!
Oh jeez, 'll get me own coat
Elizabeth the second of England, not Scotland
If Scotland had a queen she would have been a much better queen, aye everything is better in scotland...
- Harry Enfield
Or Northern Ireland. Only England & Wales.
Charles will be Charles III for Scotland, though, thanks to James I (aka James VI of Scotland).
Excellent piece.
Thank-you for this.
I'm picking bilberries (I hope) today, and running through a few HMQ memories.
Top trolling, like it
What has this got to do with cycling? You are a cycling website not the main news channels.
There are 3 thing mentioned in the article.
It's always heartening to find out who reads to the end.
To briefly take you through the process, since lunchtime when news of her condition first broke and the seriousness of the situation gradually became apparent, we discussed how we should handle it.
Because, as you point out, there are implications for at least three things that are cycling-related (and likely more will emerge in the coming days), it was something we felt we should report.
Moreover, as a UK-based publication, it would be impossible for us to ignore the passing of someone who has been our Head of State for seven decades - and is certainly the only one any of us who work on the site have ever known.
We didn't feel it appropriate to make the headline something like "What the Queen's death means for cycling" or even mention those at the top of the article, which is why they appear at the bottom; there will certainly be standalone stories on them in the coming days, at the appropriate time (and in fact one is being written right know).
I hope that clarifies.
What it is, is possibly the biggest event in all our lives. I think it is apt for road.cc to run a piece on it.
This event isn't even in the top five most important event of the week. This was a cycling site but covering this is just stupid.
Oh come on, it is certainly appropriate for road.cc to cover it but "possibly the biggest event in all our lives"? Not 9/11, the end of the Cold War, Brexit, the invasion of Iraq, the Arab Spring... it's certainly sad for her family, as any death is, and sad for all those who admired her, but the natural death of a 96-year-old woman, however deserving of our praise, is hardly the biggest event in all our lives, is it?
Another one who does not read the article and then blindly comments anyway. YOLO!
Now that her and Phillip have gone, maybe they could open up Buckingham palace to some of the homeless sleeping in shop doorways opposite?
Makes sense with winter coming soon.
Crass comment.
RIP your Majesty. You have acted throughout your life with grace and dignity.
Rest in peace your Majesty.
Yes, thousands of people sleeping rough is crass and something the "Queen" did nothing about.
Umm, you should explain exactly how the "Queen" ( whoever that is ) could achieve/ influence/decide this.
I believe "Queen" are currently "Brian May", "Roger Taylor", "Spike Edney", "Neil Fairclough" and "Tyler Warren". Wasn't one of them on top of Buck House one time? Maybe they could have organised another concert or something?
Not a huge monarchy fan but she was brilliant.
Agreed. She's just always been there. History, eh. One damn thing after another. Goodbye, QEII.
I still would rather not have had to pay towards her luxury lifestyle for my entire life. It's not hard to be "brilliant" when you've got your pick of palaces to live in, and armies of flunkies catering to your every whim, at the expense of taxpayers, many of whom are barely scraping by.
Not the occasion for it and I suggest you google how the monarchy is funded.
It is precisely the occasion for it. If not now, then when?
Here's a useful link explaining a bit about what the monarchy actually costs, not that the cost is the only issue.
https://www.republic.org.uk/the_true_cost_of_the_royals
Leaving aside that that is a very poor doc from Republic, they suggest now is *not* the time.
A very poor doc from Republic? That's your opinion, but it was just a quick example I found in response to the guy that patronisingly told us to "google how the monarchy is funded". I did, but apparently he didn't.
I haven't seen anyone in this forum, myself included, that is not respecting the family's personal loss or allowing them to mourn (as if we even could).
The nation has lost it's longest ever reigning monarch, which is a big deal, and her heir will take over soon. This is the most obvious and natural time to discuss the pros, cons and future of that system. That does not mean disrespecting Queen Elizabeth or celebrating her death, but it is not up to you, me or Republic when and how people are allowed to disagree with the monarchy
That is a very poor document... agreed.
Why?
The Royal Family costs the taxpayer just over a pound a year. Considering the money they bring into the UK in tourism, I would say it's good value.
In real terms. The French Republic would counter argue that point of value.
Regardless. An exceptional professional.
All the money in the world does not buy you integrity.