House Of Lords Chief Of Staff Says Rumors Of Queen Elizabeth II’s Death Are ‘False’

Fortunately, it seems Queen Elizabeth II is alive and well.

On Sunday, The Blast confirmed that Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, now 95 years of age, was experiencing “mild cold-like symptoms” after being diagnosed with COVID-19. Buckingham Palace said that she is expected to carry out “light duties” at Windsor Castle as she recovers.

“She will continue to receive medical attention and will follow all the appropriate guidelines,” the palace added. It is reported that the Queen and all members of the royal family have been vaccinated against COVID-19.

However, on Tuesday night, one outlet reported that Her Royal Majesty had passed away. They then doubled down on their statement a short while later, despite criticism from the public. For those of you in the United States, it will be noon in London when it is 7 AM on the East Coast and no official statement has been made from Buckingham Palace.

The rumors of her death were able to be debunked quickly due to two issues in the initial statement. It was alleged that the “Royal kingdom” had informed the outlet that the Queen had passed away, which is not an established source.

It also claimed that she had been “scheduled to attend the wedding of a British vogue editor but was found dead.” However, CNN and many outlets had reported earlier that day that the Queen had canceled even her virtual engagements to focus on her health.

In a statement from Buckingham Palace issued earlier on Tuesday: “As Her Majesty is still experiencing mild cold-like symptoms she has decided not to undertake her planned virtual engagements today, but will continue with light duties.”

Multiple sources have come forward to say that allegations of the Queen's demise are "false."

Dayo Okewale currently works as a chief of staff in the House of Lords in the U.K. government. When he’s not providing political, diplomatic, and strategic insight to the Crossbench Peers, he is serving as co-chair of Equal Justice for NEXUS Global, a global community that bridges wealth, philanthropy, and social entrepreneurship. He also serves on the board of the UNESCO Human Rights Global Integration forum alumni and leadership program.

On Tuesday, he responded to the news of the Queen's death, calling it "false."

“Hollywood unlocked posting the Queen is dead????” he tweeted. “There is no credible source that verifies this. #False”

A short while later, this was backed up by a Broadcast Journalist at Nationwide News Network, RicardoBrooks.

“Queen Elizabeth is not dead,” he tweeted. “The @BBC will report it first, after her Private Secretary has advised the British Prime Minister. There’s a very elaborate and well laid plan to announce her death.”

He also included a link to BNO News, who debunked news of the Queen’s death shortly after it started trending on Twitter Tuesday night.

Thankfully, there is a protocol known as "London Bridge" in place for when the Queen does pass away. The almost six-minute video Brooks posted shares some information about the operation.

POLTICO has received a breakdown of the ten-day process that happens from the hours after the Queen’s death is confirmed to ten days after the event.

On her death day, known as D-Day, a “call cascade” will inform the prime minister, the cabinet secretary, and several senior ministers and officials of her death. The royal household is responsible for issuing an “official notification” to the public.

Departmental permanent secretaries have a call script that reads: “We have just been informed of the death of Her Majesty The Queen.” Ministers will be told that “discretion is required.”

The cabinet secretary will send out an email to ministers and senior civil servants that reads, “Dear colleagues, It is with sadness that I write to inform you of the death of Her Majesty The Queen.”

Upon receipt, flags across Whitehall must be lowered to half-mast within ten minutes. Yes, ten minutes. Although Downing Street initially expressed concerns about the short timeline, a government official has since concluded that the matter is “resolved.”

As for what you can expect from social media:

“The royal family’s website will change to a black holding page with a short statement confirming the queen’s death. The U.K. government website — GOV.UK — will display a black banner at the top. All government departmental social media pages will also show a black banner and change their profile pictures to their departmental crest. Non-urgent content must not be published. Retweets are explicitly banned unless cleared by the central government head of communications.”

By 6 PM on the day of her death, King Charles will deliver a broadcast to the nation.

The day after she passes, at precisely 10 AM the next morning, the Accession Council will proclaim King Charles the new sovereign. He will then proceed to take a ceremonial tour of the U.K. in the days before the official funeral, which will be held at Westminster Abbey ten days after her death.

As you can see, the outlet was correct in saying that there was a ten-day process after her passing, but it does not mean that Buckingham Palace is going to wait ten days to inform the public of her death.

Although she is 95 and has had several health scares over the years, the Queen is reported to be in good health despite her COVID-19 diagnosis. We are all wishing her a speedy recovery.