Media reports suggest that Buckingham Palace officials are regularly updating plans for King Charles’ funeral following his recent health issues. The 75-year-old British monarch has been largely out of the public eye since his cancer diagnosis in February. According to a report in The Daily Beast, sources stated that the monarch’s condition is “not good.”
“Of course, he is determined to beat it and they are throwing everything at it. Everyone is staying optimistic, but he is really very unwell. More than they are letting on,” an old friend of the royal family was quoted as saying by the outlet.
What is Operation Menai Bridge?
It has been reported that the aides of King Charles are regularly reviewing copies of his royal funeral plans, code-named “Operation Menai Bridge”, which is a several-hundred-page document.
“The plans have been dusted off and are actively being kept up to date. It’s no more than what you would expect given the king has been diagnosed with cancer. But the circulation of them has certainly focused minds,” said a former staffer, while speaking to the Daily Beast.
According to reports from the Daily Beast, a detailed document for the funeral of King Charles was created a day after Queen Elizabeth’s burial on September 8, 2022.
Military officials clarified that Operation Menai Bridge, which is the name of the plan for King Charles’ funeral, is being regularly updated as part of standard procedure, and it would be “absurd to read anything into” this fact.
Planning for the funerals of British monarchs is customary, and all members of the UK’s royal family have such plans, which are periodically updated. These plans are identified by codewords based on bridges. Queen Elizabeth‘s plan was famously known as “Operation London Bridge,” while King Charles’ plan was named after the suspension bridge that connects the island of Anglesey with the Welsh mainland.
“The plans have been dusted off and are actively being kept up to date. It’s no more than what you would expect given the king has been diagnosed with cancer. But the circulation of them has certainly focused minds,” said a former staffer, while speaking to the Daily Beast.
