What If Queen Elizabeth Dies In Scotland? More Details On Operation Unicorn Revealed

Scotland has already planned what will happen when Queen Elizabeth dies within its borders. Dubbed as “Operation Unicorn,” this clandestine strategy is different from the U.K.’s “Operation London Bridge.”

Operation London Bridge has been in place since the 1960s. The U.K. authorities will immediately implement this strategy when the Queen dies in the U.K. This plan is reportedly being updated regularly, and chosen members of the government, the police and broadcasters gather together thrice a year to hold meetings strategizing the event of Queen Elizabeth’s death.

Recently, a forum for senior Holyrood staff known as the Scottish Parliament’s Leadership Group (LG) revealed that there exists a strategy in Scotland that is parallel to the U.K.’s Operation London Bridge. The minutes of a meeting held by the Scottish Parliament in June reveal that the secret codename was first mentioned in the Parliament’s online papers in 2017, when the leadership group agreed to set up a resilience board for disruptive incidents involving Queen Elizabeth. The incidents, according to the Parliament, should include Holyrood’s role in the London Bridge and Unicorn operations.

“LG received an update on planning for Operation Unicorn — the death of Her Majesty The Queen while in Scotland,” the account read. “The primary focus was on the impacts on staffing and the specific impacts depending on timing.”

Operation Unicorn involves the immediate suspension of business at Scottish Parliament to allow authorities to prepare for a state funeral that will become a global event. According to a source from Queen Elizabeth’s residence in Scotland, Holyrood Palace, the Queen dying north of the border might result in an influx of hundreds of thousands of people in the region.

Every year, Queen Elizabeth visits Scotland and stays at Balmoral for three months. The authorities will implement Operation Unicorn, given the assumption that if the Queen dies in the country, the focal points for journalists and the public will be the Parliament, the Palace of Holyrood and St. Giles’ Cathedral.

Operation Unicorn also states that the funeral will take place 10 days after Queen Elizabeth’s death if she dies while the Parliament is sitting. Before her remains are taken back to London, her body will first rest at Holyrood Palace and her coffin will be carried to the Cathedral. From there, the Royal Train will take her remains back to London.