Furious palace aides are hunting for the source behind the 'deeply disturbing' leak of top secret plans that are to be enacted when the Queen dies.
The details of 'Operation London Bridge' including ministerial protocols and funeral arrangements were published yesterday morning in a move described by Whitehall insiders as 'concerning, unnecessary and upsetting'.
The plans for the huge operation were only shared with a small group of people and reveals that all Whitehall flags must be lowered to half mast within ten minutes followed by a TV address and UK tour by Prince Charles and a pre-planned memorial service at St Paul's Cathedral for ministers that will be made to look 'spontaneous'.
Their exposure has provoked fury at Buckingham Palace, with sources saying there is now a 'major appetite' to discover who the mole is what their motivation was.
'It is deeply disturbing that such private information, which is not only deeply personal to the Queen but also has widespread security implications, has been revealed,' a royal source told The Mirror.
It is believed the plans were leaked after being updated during the pandemic.
Whitehall bosses are also believed to be on the warpath to track down the source and could narrow down the possible culprits by examining which version of the documents were released.
A Cabinet Office source said: 'We will look into which version has emerged and be able to determine whether this dereliction of duty requires a formal government investigation.
It sets up a potentially uncomfortable meeting for the Prime Minister tomorrow, as Boris and Carrie Johnson will be meeting Her Majesty this weekend at Balmoral despite courtiers’ mounting concerns over Covid. It will also be the first time their 16-month-old son, Wilfred, meets the monarch.
Buckingham Palace has declined to comment - but a royal insider said officials are 'not happy', adding: ’We are not talking about this. It is a matter for the Government.’
Royal expert Angela Levin said: 'I think it is awful and cruel to release the top-secret plans about the Queen's death. Where are our morals?'
The ten-day plan was leaked to POLITICO after being updated during the coronavirus pandemic with the day she passes away being called 'D-Day'.
It was first hatched in the 1960s but has never been published in such granular detail. But there is no suggestion that Her Majesty, 95, is in poor health and there are major questions about how documents so sensitive could be made public.
In more embarrassment for the Government, Operation Spring Tide, the closely-guarded plan for Prince Charles' accession to the throne, was also included in the leak. It does not include details of his coronation, which could be several months later.
The Cabinet Office could now launch a formal investigation within days into who leaked the paperwork, with Cabinet Secretary Simon Case, who previously worked for Prince William, expected to make the decision next week, according to The Mirror.
Today's leak reveals the first person outside Buckingham Palace to be told the sad news will be the Prime Minister, who will be telephoned by the Queen's Private Secretary, before a 'call cascade' to members of the cabinet, members of the privy council and senior figures including in the Armed Forces, who plan gun salutes across the country hours later.
They will all be given the same scripted message: 'We have just been informed of the death of Her Majesty The Queen. Discretion is required'.
The royal household will then issue an 'official notification' delivering the sad news to the public via the TV and press including confirmation that Her Majesty's funeral will take place ten days later at Westminster Abbey before being buried in the family crypt next to her beloved Prince Philip at Windsor Castle.
Before that her body will lie in state for three days in the Palace of Westminster, which will be open 23-hours-a-day for members of the public to file through to pay their respects.
Cabinet Office documents show that the Government is in a flap about ensuring that all flags are lowered to half-mast within ten minutes to avoid inflaming 'a wave of public anger'. One briefing suggests that contractors are being considered solely to do the job.
The Department for Transport has also warned that London will be 'full' for the first time in history, with trains and buses packed with people flooding into the capital to mourn the Queen and then line the streets for the funeral. Hotels and B&Bs will also be full.
The updated 'Operation London Bridge' also contains plans for social media and has been updated for the internet age.
Any tweets and retweets by Government department social media accounts and ministers will have to be signed off by spin doctors first to keep an iron grip on messaging about the Queen at a sensitive time. And no public statements by senior MPs is permitted until the Prime Minister speaks first, probably in a Downing Street address in the hours after her death.
The top secret plans for the Queen's death, known as Operation London Bridge first started in the 1960s, has been updated since the pandemic began and now leaked via Whitehall
The coffin is carried into St George's Chapel during the funeral of Prince Philip. The Queen will also have the same journey after a state funeral at Westminster, before being buried in Windsor
Operation Spring Tide, the closely-guarded plan for Prince Charles' accession to the throne, was also included in the leak. Charles will address the nation on the day his mother dies, the plan says
