This is The Guardian.

Hi, my name is David Wolff and I'm the editor of The Guardian Long Read.

Following the news of The Queen's Death, for the audio long read today,

we're bringing you a piece from our archive, London Bridges Down,

the secret plans for the days after The Queen's Death, by Sam Knight.

The piece was first published in 2017 and while a few small details are out of date,

it remains the best account of both what will unfold over the coming days

and what this moment in history means.

Welcome to The Guardian Long Read, showcasing the best long form journalism covering culture,

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Operation London Bridge, the secret plan for the days after The Queen's Death.

Written and read by me, Sam Knight.

In the plans that exist for The Death of The Queen, and there are many versions held by

Buckingham Palace, the government and the BBC, most envisaged that she will die after a short illness.

Her family and doctors will be there. When the Queen Mother passed away on the afternoon of

Easter Saturday in 2002 at the Royal Lodge in Windsor, she had time to telephone friends to say goodbye

and to give away some of her horses. In these last hours, the Queen's senior doctor

– a gastroenterologist named Professor Hugh Thomas – will be in charge. He will look after

his patient, control access to her room and consider what information should be made public.

The bond between sovereign and subjects is a strange and mostly unknowable thing.

A nation's life becomes a person's and then the string must break.

...