Codenamed Operation London Bridge, the arrangements for Britain’s longest-serving monarch have been carefully considered for years by the many agencies involved, with the Queen herself signing off on every detail before her death. In an interview with Sky News earlier this week, London Mayor Sadiq Khan said of the scale: “If you think about the London Marathon, the carnival, previous royal weddings, the Olympics — it’s all of that in one.” The three police forces operating in the British capital — the Metropolitan Police, the London Police and the British Transport Police — launched their well-rehearsed plans across London as soon as Elizabeth II’s death was announced on September 8. The funeral will be the “largest single police event” undertaken by London’s Metropolitan Police, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stuart Cuddy told reporters. “As a single event, this is bigger than the 2012 Olympics. It’s bigger than the Platinum Jubilee weekend. And the range of officers, police staff and everyone who supports the operation is really huge,” he said. It is also set to be “the biggest global protection operation the Met Police has ever undertaken” as “hundreds of world leaders and VIPs” descend on London, he said. When asked specifically how the high-profile guests would be transported to London’s Westminster Abbey for the funeral, Cuddy declined to give specific details, saying it would not contribute to a “safe and secure event and policing operation”. Meanwhile, the mammoth logistical undertaking involved a myriad of other aspects, including doctors, toilets, street cleaning and road closures. It is “impossible” to predict the size of the crowd that turned out to pay their last respects, according to Transport for London (TfL) Commissioner Andy Byford. Byford described the funeral as “the biggest event” the transport network has ever faced in an interview with British news agency PA Media. Comparing it to the Olympics, he said: “This is more difficult. It’s over a long period of time and although there are estimates, it’s impossible to say for sure how many people will show up for the various elements, so we assumed the highest possible number and aligned the our services to match it.” Invitations have been sent to world leaders, politicians, public figures and European royalty, as well as more than 500 international dignitaries. The security issues are staggering.
The British government is taking the lead on logistics but declined to comment on specific “operational security arrangements”. US President Joe Biden was among the first to confirm his attendance at the event, which will be attended by up to 2,000 people. Japan’s Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako will also travel to London, as will many other royals and world leaders. Hundreds of police from other forces are supporting the Met, but the presence of so many VIPs will pile on the pressure. “Everything will be negotiated,” Morgan said, explaining that some concessions will be made. There simply aren’t enough police and security officers to give an escorted escort to everyone who would normally take one on a self-guided visit. Therefore, people are congregating on a logistical basis,” Morgan said. Simon Morgan is a former privacy officer who was responsible for overseeing senior members of the royal family, including the Queen and the new King between 2007 and 2013.
“It will be seamless,” Morgan, who now runs private security firm Trojan Consultancy, told CNN. “The policing scheme and the security behind it is a dual function: security and public safety are both inherent.” Morgan said the events surrounding the state funeral have been decades in the making. “London Bridge was completed in the 1960s. It has been overhauled at least three times a year. “Elements are being discussed and indeed some elements have already been used individually,” he said, citing the Queen Mother’s funeral in 2002, royal weddings and the Platinum Jubilee as examples. Regular reviews have been vital in combating the changing nature of security threats — from Irish nationalism in the 1970s and 1980s to Islamic extremism more recently. White House aides declined to provide specific security details for President Biden’s visit, but say they are working with their British counterparts to ensure presidential security requirements are met. The FBI will monitor potential threat streams and share any information with the UK’s MI5 security agency. When reports emerged last week that world leaders would have to board a bus for the funeral, US officials were skeptical and dismissed the suggestion that Biden would travel to Westminster Abbey by coach. In 2018, when other world leaders traveled together in a bus to a World War I memorial in Paris, then US President Donald Trump traveled separately in his own vehicle. The White House explained at the time that the separate trip was “due to security protocols.” “Everything will be negotiated,” Morgan said, explaining that some concessions will be made. There simply aren’t enough police and security officers to give an escorted escort to everyone who would normally take one on a self-guided visit. Therefore, people are congregating on a logistical basis,” Morgan said. “There is no compromise on security and many visiting officials will be very familiar with the perspective of requiring their own security teams.” Police must also consider the “constant threat”, he said. “This is someone who is attached to a member of the royal family. Many of these people are subject to mental health orders and have subsequently come to the attention of medical professionals and sometimes law enforcement.” “Single cause” activists are also a danger, Morgan said. The force has already drawn harsh criticism for its treatment of pro-democracy protesters. “Each of these causes wants to use the global media attention to highlight what’s important to them,” he added. Simon Hill, from Oxford, told CNN how he was aggressively arrested after shouting “not my king” at a ceremony proclaiming the accession of Charles III. He said he was left “amazed” after “the police intervened, grabbed me, handcuffed me and put me in the back of a police van”. He added: “Certainly arbitrary arrest is not something we should have in a democratic society.” According to Morgan, the police do not aim to ban peaceful protests, but to ensure public order, as protests can sometimes lead to conflict when emotions run high. “The police are very much in a ‘damned if you do, damned if you don’t’ situation,” he said. While the police lead the operation, many others are closely involved — including the military, transportation and utility chiefs. Health concerns are paramount. In addition to official emergency services, approximately 2,000 volunteers and employees of St. John Ambulance provided 24-hour support in London and Windsor for her lying in state, as well as her funeral. “In our planning for this sad occasion, we estimated we would need about 1,000 volunteers, but more than double what they said were available,” St. John’s Operations Commissioner Mike Gibbons said in a statement. Patrick Goulbourn, assistant commissioner, operational resilience and control, at the London Fire Service, told CNN his team had worked “over many years with partners”. They have carried out fire safety inspections at over 40 major central transport hubs and also carry out around 160 fire safety inspections a day at hotels, restaurants, shops and more. In addition, 10 fire engines and around 50 firefighters assist people queuing to see the Queen’s coffin around the clock. CNN’s Lauren Said Moorhouse, Max Foster, Luke McGee, Duarte Mendonca, Christian Edwards, Kevin Liptak and Niamh Kennedy contributed to this report.