“London Bridge is down.” Those are thought to be the code words used by civil servants to spread the news of Queen Elizabeth II’s passing, first to the prime minister and members of the UK government, and then to other countries where she was the head of state or a figurehead.
Confirmation on Thursday of the Queen’s death at age 96 was both a shock to a disbelieving nation and an event for which there had been years of planning. Sir Christopher Geidt, the Queen’s private secretary for a decade to 2017, was a former diplomat given a second knighthood in 2014, in part for organising her succession.
Elements of “Operation London Bridge,” the main plan detailing the mechanics of steering a country through a period of mourning and transition to a new monarch (now King Charles III) had previously been leaked, giving us all an indication of what was to come. Very little was left to chance, but among the unknowns — until the moment actually came — was how the formalities would slot into pre-existing events and longstanding engagements.
“Entirely at the discretion of individual organizations”
Sport occupies a significant space within this grey area — especially football, given its status as the national sport. And so, as two footmen posted notice on the railings outside Buckingham Palace of the queen’s death at just after 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, the immediate reaction was to stop, just as the country had ground to a halt over the gravity of the moment. Evening horse racing fixtures at Chelmsford and Southwell were abandoned midway through the card, while all of the Friday racing was also cancelled, as were two of the day’s English Football League fixtures — Burnley vs. Norwich City in the championship and Tranmere Rovers against Stockport County in League Two.
Europa League matches at Manchester United (who lost to Real Sociedad) and West Ham United (who defeated FCSB) were allowed to go ahead as their 8 p.m. kickoffs made them unsafe to abandon at such a late stage, but that initial discussion typically led on to what would happen next. Sources have told ESPN that various governing bodies including the English Football Association (FA), the Premier League and the EFL began pondering what to do about the weekend’s fixtures before deciding against a sudden judgement.
