Cabinet Office chiefs have reportedly launched an investigation into the leaking of official plans for the immediate aftermath of the Queen’s death.
The masterplan is said to lay out how the new King Charles will embark on a tour of the UK and give a broadcast to the nation.
The detailed arrangements, known by the codename London Bridge, were published by the Politico website.
It reported that the UK parliament and the devolved legislatures in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will adjourn.
It also described Operation Spring Tide, the plan for Charles’s accession to the throne.
A government source said the Cabinet Office had started an investigation into the leak, according to TheTelegraph online.
The newspaper quoted the source as saying: “If it turns out to be an old version that was widely circulated and does not include the most sensitive material, it might go no further than that - but if it’s a fuller version that is only circulated to, say, 10 people, then the Cabinet Office will launch a formal inquiry.”
Buckingham Palace declined to comment.
Royal aides are likely to be frustrated at the information appearing in the public domain, especially coming five months after the death of the Duke of Edinburgh. The queen, 95, is in good health, by all accounts.
Elements of the plans will have been circulated to specific organisations, such as local government, charities and the military, to brief them on their roles in the arrangements.
Under the plans, in the hours following the Queen’s death a “call cascade” will take place, informing the prime minister, the cabinet secretary and the most senior ministers and officials.
The plans include gun salutes, a national minute’s silence, a broadcast to the nation by King Charles, a state funeral and a service of remembrance. the prime minister and his cabinet will see the Queen’s coffin at a London station.
