Do govt employee find out early about the Queen’s death?

[Ginandpink]

My brother said they were told early, doesn’t make sense?

Of course people knew! I also suspect she died at lunchtime when the first 'concern' breaking news was published. Huw was in a funeral suit all afternoon. BIL works for a bbc owned radio channel (but not in a direct comms role) and a meeting scheduled for 4pm was put in their diary at 2pm. They were told that a significant announcement would be made reguarding the queens health at 6pm and things would have to be dropped in order for all hands on deck. Were they told she had died? No. Was it very obvious that was the case. Absolutely.

I suspect those who were in more communications based roles would have been explicitly told so they could start their continuity plans.

Exactly I dont really understand the mock confusion or umbrage taken from the fact that of course there are a host of people who know and have to know at an informal level prior to the formal, official announcement so that all sorts of plans and logistics can be mobilised. And of course that also involves the 'proper' people who will be formally notified later as well.

I dont think people are presenting themselves as special because thats the job they're in or their partners. It seems have really ruffled up people, but god knows why, its common sense, no one is bragging or anything. You have to have a certain type of mentality to be offended by that or see someone as bragging if they are simply explaining the processes.

Well it seems every man and his dog “knew” before the official announcement.

Dh heard at 3pm that the queen had died. According to him his boss has a friend that is is close contact with the doctor/coroner that confirmed and signed the death certificate at approx 2.45pm yesterday!🤔

Dh totally believes that this is the gods honest truth!
I asked him if he truly expected me to believe that his boss has his own personal contact, connected to the Royal doctor/coroner?

I also pointed out that it would be highly unprofessional and highly unlikely that the doctor/coroner would pass this info on immediately outside of the Royal household.
Dh isn’t having it though he’s adamant he knew at 3pm….

Have also read many accounts of people supposedly “in the know” as this was unfolding yesterday well before the official announcement but tbh most of it is nothing more than “Chinese whispers” and unless it’s officially confirmed then I’ll take everything with a pinch of salt!

Put what on hold and do what??

Baffling.

You can't possibly give a timeline like that! Especially for the queen, with so much riding on being right.

Why? What building?

Lady CC posted on her YouTube a good hour before the announcement that HMQ passed at 2:37pm.
I’ve no idea how well connected she is!
Media states Liz Truss was told at 4:30pm so a couple of hours before Joe Public.

@Octomore - She's going to lie in state - that will be in a building. There are likely to be books of remembrance - that'll need to go somewhere too. And the logistics of getting the funeral ready will likely require space for storage preparations etc

She is going to lie in state in Westminster Hall, not a government building 🙄🙄🙄

And not for a few days. She will lie in state in Edinburgh for two days too.

Just like the average person, sometimes elderly people can appear to be getting by, but then rapidly deteriorate. Take tuesdays meeting with Liz. HRH had a bruise on her hand and a swollen ankle. Family members may well have been told she was becoming more frail. Did the government know as well, perhaps. But that doesn't mean they knew it was going to happen the same week. (You tend not to alarm everyone until you know its happening).

Did family know sooner? Of course.
We're other groups told before the media announcement? Yes definitely.
Does it matter? No!

Being a Queen means all the necessary people are informed when required and not before. This is 100% expected... If your partner dies in a car accident, the police inform the next of kin. They don't go about telling the neighbours first.

We are in spain, at (3.30)2.30 UK a man came up to us and asked if we were english and said his son just called to say the queen had died. I have no idea what his son does , but the dad knew something the rest of the world didn't and he just had to share it with someone.

Newsman On BBC was wearing a blue tie approx 4- 4.30. If black tie it's happened

My dad is a civil servant (works for the dole office in Sudbury) and he knew at 3pm. They all got told to not give anyone any extra money so that they wouldn't have big tellies to watch it on.

Dh heard at 3pm that the queen had died. According to him his boss has a friend that is is close contact with the doctor/coroner that confirmed and signed the death certificate at approx 2.45pm yesterday!🤔
If this is at all true it's terrible and I hope word gets back to the RF that their doctor can't keep his mouth shut. To think that 15 mins after signing her death certificate he would be telling his friends is quite shocking... If at all true!

And as for some random man knowing because his random son told him - are we supposed to believe this random person is in the know or rather like the rest of the UK he knew because it was bleeding obvious from the first announcement that the Queen was close to passing.

And frankly this may be the most bizarre post I've read on MN. Sudbury dole office hear first so they don't dish out extra money for people to buy big tellies! Do they usually dish out extra money?

I assumed both of those posts were trying to be funny and out do ‘my friend was official told by an anonymous source at work and ran and told me so we knew before the PM’

^ This.

I'm sure a lot of people guessed early on what was going on and what was likely to be announced ...

That started stories and rumours circulating that in some cases eventually turned out to be true but nevertheless many people were simply guessing.

The number of people who genuinely and through official sources knew before the official announcement was made....I suspect not a lot.

Our media guys heard rumours after 2pm but that wasn't exactly a head start on what the rest of the country could have guessed from the TV. Had various sources confirm in the afternoon.

I suspect it was before Truss made her announcement on Energy Bills, which had to be done before the queen's death was announced due to the parliamentary time table eg beating the October energy bill increase and the Queen's death causing a parliamentary shut down and early party conference recess. Doubt we will know the precise time for years though.

It might well be part of Operation London Bridge to have early news of a serious illness in order that the preparations on the day can be made with plausible excuses about being ready for the worst.

I knew nothing until I got home from work (no mobiles at work and had a podcast on in the car so no news). I said to DH (a senior civil servant) that the way the news was coming out made me think she was either dead or literally being kept alive until HRHs Edward, Andrew & William could get there. On TV I saw Robert Peston in a black tie and tripping on some words - we both commented on it then half an hour later he was back with a different, sombre but non black, tie. I reckon that he’d been told to remove the black tie until the actual announcement.
I think it is highly unlikely that the big announcement was made until she’d been gone for a good couple of hours. They would have needed to ensure that ALL her family (and she has extended family all over Europe) heard it before the general public.

I do know people who absolutely would know more details, I have friends on HMs staff and in No. 10 but they would not tell me and I would not ask anymore than I would tell or be asked about confidential matters in my own job (of no national importance). They keep suitable mourning attire in their offices permanently for such occasions.
Many people aren’t aware that they are bound by The Official Secrets Act even if they haven’t actually signed it and I’m shocked if so many of these “high ups” have been shooting their mouths off.

Now I've had a bit more sleep I think (hope!) you're right! 😆

Now I'm wondering how come all these people with friends in high places aren't telling us when the funeral will be, because I'm sure they must all know!

Just looked through my WhatsApp and I texted my friend “the Queen’s dead” at 1.30. Absolutely no inside info apart from what I saw online and the same stuff everyone else saw so come on, it was pretty obvious during the House of Commons debate that something was seriously up, and that could only be it.

Obviously it wasn’t public at that point, press embargoes are a serious thing and there’s an entire plan around this announcement that had been planned for years.

My Mum texted me at 1pm to say when did I think the announcement would be after seeing the statement.

No inside info at all.

Although some current inside info has the Funeral confirmed as the 19th

Exactly, that and immediate rolling news, it wasn’t rocket science that something was seriously amis it was just a realistic thought process.