New Detailed Plans for Churches in Britain After the Queen’s Death Revealed

Plans for “Operation London Bridge” reveal leather workers all over Britain are working steadily to craft muffles for church bells in preparation of Queen Elizabeth II’s passing. The Queen has been the head of the British monarchy for over seven decades.

The Queen is currently 95 years-old and is expected to be succeeded by her son Charles, Prince of Wales, who is 73.

Upon Her Majesty’s death, an hour’s muted chimes will ring out across Britain, but the majority of Britain’s 16,000 have not been muffled since the death of her father, King George VI.

Leatherworks across the UK are beginning to receive bulk orders for the bell muffles, which Central Council of Church Bell Ringers spokeswoman Vicki Chapman said will make a sound like “thud, thud, thud rather than dong, dong, dong.”

“We have spent a lot of time talking to the Royal Household and Lambeth Palace about the day the Monarch passes, which we hope will not be any time soon. It is about paying due reverence to the service of the Monarch and commemorating her life,” Chapman added.

Full muffles are used to soften the sound of a church bell’s clapper, and are reserved only for the death of the Monarch, whereas bells, which are half-muffled, are used for Remembrance Sunday, as well as funerals.

“A lot of enquiries are coming in and we are taking on more and more orders. Muffles are a specialist product and only a very few leather manufacturers in the UK make them,” said Philip Pratt, of Big Wilf’s Bell Muffles near Bristol.

Each muffle will cost $58, and each bell needs two muffles, so a church with six bells may be looking at close to $700 for their muffles.

Other details for the ten crucial days which will follow the Queen’s death before her state funeral at Westminster Abbey include COVID-19 precautions, as well as security targeting members of the Royal Family’s social media accounts.

Prince Charles, whose succession is codenamed as “Spring Tide,” is expected to address Britain on the night of her death. On the day after the Queen’s death, the Accession Council will meet at 10 a.m. local time and proclaim Charles as the new sovereign.

A ceremony will follow where hundreds of people, including the prime minister, will congregate in black clothing at St. James's Palace. On the third day following his mother’s death, Charles will begin his mourning tour of the nation and will visit Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.

The Queen’s coffin will be on view for the public before her funeral. Meanwhile, the Home Office will have to amp up security in the city of London in preparation of heightened terror risks.