Industry responds to the death of Queen Elizabeth II
After reigning for more than 70 years, Britain’s longest serving monarch Queen Elizabeth II has died at Balmoral, aged 96.
Her death was announced by Buckingham Palace at 6:30pm London time (3:30am AEST), following an announcement early in the day that the Queen was under medical supervision.
As the world responds to the news of her passing, Mumbrella has taken a look at how the coming days and months will play out for the media industry and beyond, as King Charles III ascends to the throne.
Industry Tributes
Much like the rest of the world, there has been an outpouring of grief right across the industry, from brands to industry leaders.
Industry veteran Sir Martin Sorrell took to LinkedIn to commemorate the Queen’s passing with a heartfelt post.
Agencies have also shared their position, paying tribute to the Queen’s 70 years of reign over the UK and the Commonwealth.
Brands have also shared in the mourning, with the UK’s national carrier British Airways quick to commemorate the occasion.
What happens next?
For Commonwealth nations, like Australia, 10 days of mourning and remembrance will be observed, with flags flown at half mast until the day after the Queen’s funeral service, will occur on the 10th day after her death. In the coming days, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Governor-General David Hurley will travel to London to meet with King Charles III, with more details around the arrangement of the funeral to be shared over the next 48-hours.
Australian Parliament is expected to be suspended for the next 15 days, with a national memorial service to be held upon the Prime Minister and Governor General’s return from London.
In the UK, as plan known as operation ‘London Bridge’ has been set into motion, with parliamentary business suspended for 10 days and broadcasting to reflect the somber mood of the nation.
Media in mourning
Upon the announcement of the Queens death, British commercial radio stations are said to receive a notification alerting them to switch over to the news and play on non-offensive music from a pre-selected playlist.
On TV, normal programming will be halted with news readers to wear black suits and ties, as a symbol of their mourning. While the exact protocols for broadcaster locally are not as publicly available, programming on all major Australian channels has shifted in acknowledgement of the occasion.
On the ABC, programming has been devoted to the unfolding situation, and remembrance of the Queen’s life and reign. Like their British counterparts, newsreaders are dressed in black.
Seven also aired rolling coverage of the event on Sunrise until 12pm, with 7NEWS pick up the rolling covering from 12 until 6pm. In Sydney, Brisbane and Perth, Seven’s usual 7:30pm program, Better Homes and Gardens, will make way for special tribute 7News: The Death of the Queen, while Melbourne and Adelaide programming will see the special play after tonight’s AFL match between Melbourne and the Brisbane Lions.
News Corp has also rolled out a special digital coverage, rallying overnight to publish digital 6am editions across its news network to mark the passing of the Queen.
National weekend editor Mick Carroll said audiences would be treated to the most comprehensive coverage of this historic moment. “Our newsrooms are capturing this extraordinary moment in history, celebrating Queen Elizabeth’s remarkable reign, life and times and record how the world is mourning her passing.
“Our audiences will also be able to read the best commentary and analysis by the world’s most experienced Royal commentators and experts from our wider News Corp network from The Times and The Sun.”
Tomorrow, the publisher will rollout special souvenir editions of its state-based and national Saturdays newspapers, with at least 36 pages of the Herald Sun, The Daily Telegraph, The Courier-Mail and The Advertiser to be dedicated to coverage of the Queen’s legacy.
News Corp has published special digital editions in celebration of the Queen
Changes to currency
Outside of the immediate implication’s of the Queen’s passing, a series of changes will be slowly rolled out nationally and internationally as the Commonwealth prepares for King Charles’ III official coronation in a years time.
Locally, currency will be slowly updated, changing the appearance of coins and five dollar notes, with the Queen’s portrait having marked all of our coins since Australia moved to decimal currency in 1966.
Following the death of the Queen’s father, King George VI, in 1952, revised Australian coins using her portrait were placed into circulation from 1953 onwards, suggesting that it will likely takes years for our currency to transition to reflect the new monarch.
To commence this process, new coins will need to be designed to bear the effigy of King Charles III. Following Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation, the Royal Mint Advisory Committee held a competition entered by 17 artists to design her effigy for coins and banknotes in the UK as well as other Commonwealth nations, including Australia.
While it is unknown if a similar competition will take place, it is expected that the Royal Australian Mint to follow protocol of Buckingham Palace in designing and rolling out the new coins.
More to come as the news unfolds…
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