Deadline understands that major news organizations have been on standby for months since the Queen first showed signs of ill health, with some networks quietly scheduling meetings from monthly to weekly. Buckingham Palace has never given an update on next steps after the Queen’s death, but gives regular off-the-record updates to allow the media to plan. Newspapers will have days coverage ready. Queen Elizabeth II: Her Life and Duty Photo Gallery A media rush to Balmoral is now taking place, with flight trackers showing several executive jets hired to fly to Aberdeen, the closest airport to the Queen’s home in Scotland. The major networks will slightly announce that the Queen’s death took place at Balmoral, with the latest planning based on the assumption that it would take place at London’s Buckingham Palace. All other news will be blacked out for the foreseeable future on all UK channels and TV shows will be pulled from schedules possibly for days. The broadcasters contacted the producers this afternoon telling them their shows would likely be pulled and the promos and tweets would stop, a source told Deadline. BBC journalists and broadcasters were almost immediately changed into black outfits, believed to be part of Operation London Bridge, a series of protocols dictating how the Queen’s death is announced and what happens immediately afterwards. Queen Elizabeth II: Her Life and Duty Photo Gallery On Thursday, as news of the Queen’s death was confirmed, the BBC’s logo changed from its usual red to black. Thousands of reporters will be flown in from abroad for what was always predicted to be one of the last major news stories of this era of TV news before the digital revolution really takes hold. All the major US networks in particular will be preparing fleets of reporters to head over the pond, and Deadline will update you on those plans separately. Operation London Bridge will continue over the next few days. Preparations for the funeral, which will take place in about a week, according to a Guardian Long Read at London Bridge, will take place over the next few days and the funeral itself will take place on a hastily arranged public holiday. Expect wall-to-wall coverage around the world for one of the most watched shows of all time. Immediately after the funeral, the Queen’s son, Prince Charles, will be crowned as the new King of England, taking his place at Buckingham Palace in another hugely televised event.
