King Charles’ health conditions are progressively deteriorating, leading Buckingham Palace officials to keep a regularly updated plan for his impending funeral — preparations for which started the day after Queen Elizabeth was buried, insiders said.
The 75-year-old monarch has remained largely out of the limelight since announcing his cancer prognosis in February to hide his declining condition, with multiple sources telling the Daily Beast the situation is “not good.”
“Of course he is determined to beat it and they are throwing everything at it. Everyone is staying optimistic, but he is really very unwell. More than they are letting on,” a source described as an old friend of the royal family told the outlet.
King Charles has never revealed what cancer he has been diagnosed with but admitted that it wasn’t prostate cancer, which is one of the most treatable forms of the disease.
The Firm has also been tight-lipped on his medical journey, but well-placed insiders and political commentators have publicly spoken about how the king is “responding really well” to treatment.
Behind the scenes, however, King Charles’ aides are regularly reviewing copies of a several-hundred-page document outlining his royal funeral plans, dubbed “Operation Menai Bridge.”
“The plans have been dusted off and are actively being kept up to date. It’s no more than what you would expect given the king has been diagnosed with cancer. But the circulation of them has certainly focused minds,” a former staffer with links to the serving courtiers told the Daily Beast.
The extremely detailed document was created the day after Queen Elizabeth was buried on Sept. 8, 2022 — and uses the longest-serving queen’s funeral as a field guide on to ensure Charles’ runs more smoothly.
Military officials confirmed to the Daily Beast that Operation Menai Bridge is being regularly updated, but emphasized it was standard procedure and that it would be “absurd to read anything into” that fact.
All royal members of the plan have updated funeral plans that are categorized by bridge-based codewords, with Queen Elizabeth’s famously being “Operation London Bridge.”
The former Prince of Wales’ death plan is named for the suspension bridge that connects the island of Anglesey with the Welsh mainland.
“Of course they are looking at every aspect of Menai Bridge. The Queen’s funeral went like clockwork and set a high bar. It’s not an emotional thing, it’s a job, one taken very seriously, and understandably no one plans to get caught out,” said a senior official involved in the planning of royal funerals.
Another official added that “planning for the worst is what the military do … You’ve got to remember the scale of this thing. The Household Division, under Major General James Bowder, take the lead — that is seven regiments of Guards. Then you have the entire London District, the Territorial Army regiments and the Royal Horse Artillery. That’s before you get to the Navy or Air Force. Charles was closely associated with the Parachute Regiment for years, so they will be involved.
“That’s just the ceremonial end,” they continued. “Then you need a giant security operation because every VVIP on the planet is there. We’re talking everything from missile defense to guarding against a lone wolf attack.
“The whole thing goes from flash to bang in under two weeks which means every aspect of it needs to be meticulously planned in advance. Serious planning for Charles’ funeral began the day after they buried the Queen.”
King Charles’ officials did not respond to request for comment from Page Six or the Daily Beast.
