Would it be possible in this day and age to keep a huge news story private?

[homeownerwannabe]

Trying not to give a dramatic misleading title to this post and don't want to be disrespectful to the queen who I have a lot of respect for....

But...

There is rumours circulating that she has died and the news will be released on Monday. Now I'm thinking this is just conspiracy theories and there's been plenty of them about her before but would it be possible to keep something like this quiet? In a house with so many staff and the fact that there is procedures that are put in place right away (I know someone who used to cover the duty phone on rotation for when senior members of the royal family pass away) you'd think it would be leaked pretty quick?

Carrie? Do you think BoJo is going to make a bid for the throne :grin:

I shouldn't joke about that because he probably thinks he is entitled to it, he thinks he's entitled to everything else

Yep! I do think he'd make a bid for it if he could.

@musicstand

Not true Lovely, most local authorities have published protocol on the death of a senior member of the royal family. There will be a delay and a proper timetable will be followed. Google it - it is out there.

I've literally been trained in this. Everything a local authority will do will follow the official announcement from Buckingham Palace and Downing Street. Everyone will know at the same time, no delay.

When the Queen’s father died the news was broadcast within 4 hours. When Princess Diana died, journalists knew within 15 minutes. I greatly doubt that the Queen’s death will be kept a secret. There’s a whole pre-prepared protocol for this exact scenario.

@MargosKaftan

The only way they'd delay it being announced would be if they couldn't get the news to Charles first (eg. If he was on a flight, they might wait until he'd been told and was on his way back to the UK), or if she died on election day, they might wait until the polling stations had closed to announce.

But yes, I can see it would be easy to keep it secret if she died at home. The only staff let in would be people very close to her, and would be trusted to shut doors until family could be told. If she died in a hospital that would be very different.

Yes, Charles or William being uncontactable is a plausible reason why the family might try to keep the news secret for a few additional hours. But once the news is outside the immediate family and the doctors treating HM, it's not going to be a secret for very long.

And their reason for holding back on this "news" until Monday is?

She's 95 and clearly in declining health. Sadly it will happen at some point. When it does they are well rehearsed for it.

I don't think she'll make the 70th Jubilee as the decline has started but I hope she's not dead now ☹️

Anyone else wondering about this 5pm press conference

To be fair he probably died 1-2 weeks before the announced date. Otherwise its a huge coincidence he died just before social distancing covid rules were relaxed in time for his funeral.

I don't think that's true. There was a story about the family needing to call the local sheriff to pound on Harry's door in the middle of the night to notify him. There was a lot of speculation about whether and why that was necessary, but the fact that a sheriff was dispatched to Harry's home in the middle of the night on that date was verifiable. I can't imagine why they'd have done that 1-2 weeks after his death - it's hardly an emergency at that point.

I heard the ‘secret’ that PP had died a good 1.5 years before it actually happened.

@MLMshouldbeillegal

And their reason for holding back on this "news" until Monday is?

Protocol

@FourTeaFallOut

I think they'd at least say she'd been admitted to hospital, not just that she sprained her back. AFAIK, you can't die from that

NHS helpline will be clogged with terrified people thinking they're on the out while they clutch their back.

To be fair he probably died 1-2 weeks before the announced date. Otherwise its a huge coincidence he died just before social distancing covid rules were relaxed in time for his funeral

Who are you being fair to @roses2? You don't seriously think this is rue do you? No one knew if/when funeral rules would have been relaxed, how long would the charade have been kept up for

Some people are barking

When Princess Diana died, journalists knew within 15 minutes.

French journalists?

I was listening to the radio & couldn't sleep. The initial report that interrupted the service said she was injured in a crash. They knew a bit before BP confirmed it but they didn't know immediately.

maybe they're waiting until monday as monday is usually a quiet news day? god i'm so helpful.

Of course they knew about Diana as that would not be easy to cover up.

She died about 20 times last year according to Twitter.

Twitter has started rumours about so many famous people with boring regularity

There would be no reason to keep it secret, it's not going to cause civil unrest like the death of a significant public figure might in another country.
I agree with another pp that its pretty distasteful to be speculating about someone's death.

I think that any news about a royal death is done in a special way, and will have been decided on, as to when to announce it to the media, and especailly the BBC, who are always pre prepared for any such happening.

Any such rubbish reports of a death, from some tatt newspaper or other crap source,are really bad,, as this would encourage loads of people to flock to the palace or wherever, and cause mayhem.
I think I read it somewhere years ago, that if a Royal person were to die in the early evening or later in the night, it would be reported the next day at a set time, and not on some tv and radio stations, that operate all night.. Everything has to work to a system, and like clockwork for the Royals.

No, it would not be possible, nor would it be necessary. What purpose would it serve? Who would benefit?

When she dies, we'll be told by the palace. If it's happened overnight, it will be announced at 8am the next morning. If in the daytime, then at noon or 6pm.

Everything is in place and a well-oiled machine will spring to life. If you have been out of touch, you might turn on your radio or TV and just get somber classical music. If you hear that, you'll know she's gone.

People love to speculate and many fall readily for conspiracy theories. Ignoring it is the best way to go.

Even if they did withhold the news initially, they wouldn't be rushing out claiming she'd sprained her back of all things...

@gukvguk

Of course they knew about Diana as that would not be easy to cover up.

This. They knew she'd been seriously injured in a car wreck because they were there when it happened (and were probably the reason it happened). They knew which hospital she'd been taken to for the same reason, so of course all their attention and resources were fixed on that. Figuring out whether someone passed away in their sleep at home is another matter.

@supremelybaffled - I don't think the Queen is dead but I do think that if it had happened then it may have been kept quiet today so as not to overshadow Remembrance Sunday which is very important to the Queen. Especially as last year's was pared down and so many of the WWII veterans being older and frailer. It's also Charles's birthday.

Yes, events and stories can held back by govt instruction to the media via DA notice (now called DMSA notice I believe), or just via 'phone calls from the Cabinet Office to the news rooms. The media is not independent of government - far from it. (I was a press officer for a govt dept and also worked in media)