King Charles III and the Prince of Wales thanked emergency services workers on Saturday ahead of the United Kingdom’s most complex security operation ever – the State Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.
According to Buckingham Palace in a tweet: “The King met key staff who have been involved in the planning and delivery of the policing, including officers from other forces.”
During his visit to the Special Operations Room in South London, King Charles asked Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley if “plans are working” as the State Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II draws closer, and said it was “encouraging” when told that they were.
King Charles and Prince William met with the Met Police Commissioner, the Home Secretary Suella Braverman, London Mayor Sadiq Khan, and the Lord Lieutenant of Greater London, Sir Ken Olisa, during their visit.
The King also asked one officer if they’d been involved in Operation London Bridge – the code name for the huge operation that would take place upon the death of The queen – or if they’d been drafted in after her death. The officer replied that they’d been involved in plans “for about three years. There were teams before us.”
Speaking of the visit, Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said: “It was a privilege to introduce His Majesty King Charles to some of the teams working hard behind the scenes to deliver this monumental policing operation, which will culminate in us deploying the greatest number of officers in the Met’s history for a pre-planned event on Monday.
“It gave officers and staff a real boost.”
A spokesperson for the Met said: “The state funeral of Her Majesty The Queen is the largest single policing event that the Met Police has ever undertaken.
“Although this is a period of sadness, we are honoured and privileged to be a part of history.”
The State Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II takes place on 19 September at Westminster Abbey.
