Queen Elizabeth II Dies, Mourning Period Begins

Buckingham Palace announced that Queen Elizabeth II, the world's second-longest-reigning monarch, has passed away surrounded by family at her Balmoral residence in Scotland. In Britain, the passing of the 96-year-old—a popular and constant figurehead whose reign has spanned generations, prime ministers and presidents—will send somber shockwaves through the nation. Preparations for the mourning period and funeral, known among Royal staff as "London Bridge," have been the most meticulous in modern history. It's already known that her funeral will take place exactly 10 days after her death. Until then, it will be anything but business as usual in the U.K. From today, the U.K. will enter a 12-day mourning period. On the day of the funeral, expected to take place around September 19, the London Stock Exchange will close, as will most U.K. banks. The day will be a national day of mourning. Some businesses will close entirely as a mark of respect. The subsequent coronation of the next monarch King Charles, so designated upon the death of his mother, will be a bank holiday. Old media enters a state of mourning Much of the U.K. population has never known life without the Queen. The last monarch to pass was her father, wartime King George VI, who died in 1952. News of his death did not reach TV sets and radios for four hours afterwards. When Princess Diana died in Paris in 1997, journalists regaled the tragedy to the public within 15 minutes. Now the news cycle looks very different: the Queen's death was announced by the Press Association at 6:30 p.m. (1:30 p.m. ET) and within seconds there was a flood of tweets, Facebook posts, TikToks and more.It's in this same cluttered digital media landscape that broadcasters and brands will need to navigate their own responses in the coming weeks. One certainty is that the BBC, the U.K.'s public broadcaster, will pause all comedy programing until after the funeral. On news of the Queen's ill health, the media giant paused all non-news content on its flagship channels, with presenters donning dark clothing in preparation for a serious broadcast. As per The Guardian's Sam Knight, radio stations will readjust their playlists to reflect the somber mood. Communications consultant and media expert Mark Borkowski outlined his expectation that traditional media—including TV, newspapers and radio—would be ready for this scenario, having had a "dress rehearsal" following the death of the Queen’s husband Prince Phillip in 2021. “We’ll see a state of mourning with all the programs ready to run, obituaries will have been ready to roll,” he explained, saying he was less sure how “new platforms” including Netflix, Amazon and Google would respond. Another media executive predicted that U.K. newspapers would cease to run digital ads entirely, with radio stations either pausing or reducing ad breaks too. They said commercial TV stations such as ITV would be unlikely to change their ad schedule too drastically, unless brands requested to pull without charge. Viewers can also expect to see some companies run ads in tribute to Her Majesty, too. Another digital publishing source told Adweek that media shops were gearing up to pause ads on behalf of brands. The ad exec said they'd already been given a timeline for this, based on funeral timings. On the social front, Adweek has learned that Twitter is also curating the right sources in order to stamp out misinformation. A unique moment in history For businesses considering their corporate responses, Borkowski was firm in his belief that this would be a "unique moment" in history. Broadcasters including the BBC will have to adhere to strict protocols following the Queen's death “[Brands] can do all that is necessary, have prepared statements, black out their social media, make trite comments and hold a line,” he said. However, he warned, against the backdrop of a cost-of-living crisis and political upheaval, no one could have any idea just how "significant" this event would prove to be on the psyche of the U.K. public. "That is the great imponderable," the PR veteran added.Ultimately, Borkowski urged marketers to “say as little as possible, be incredibly dignified and realize nothing [else] was as important as what is going on now." No time for 'brand banter' Meanwhile, Jake Dubbins, managing director of ethics-based ad agency Media Bounty and chair of the Conscious Advertising Network, advised marketers to "urgently" review their ad inventory, to make sure nothing inappropriate was scheduled that could jar with the mood of the nation. Dubbins also countered Borkowski and urged businesses to prepare a respectful suite of social posts at the bare minimum. "Now is not the time for a cheeky turn of phrase or ‘brand banter.’ This will be a moment that will bring the nation together. Anything that goes against that, questions the role of the monarchy or tries to be clever will be a huge mistake," he cautioned. Borkowski actually predicted some brands (namely “stupid kids” and “disruptive start-ups”) would try and jump on the news to gain attention. He pondered who would be the first to break ranks and launch a controversial campaign “setting foot into what will be a very different age.” Dubbins reminded marketers to remember the human element of the occasion. "Above all and regardless of the institution of the Monarchy, Elizabeth II is someone’s mum, grandma, friend and more. Everyone needs to ask themselves how they would publicly behave if their own mum, grandma or friend passed away." Regardless of how advertisers choose to react, this once-in-a-lifetime news story will undoubtedly have lasting reverberations for culture in the U.K., where the Queen has stood as symbol of constancy and stability for the past 70 years. Britain’s Royal Family Joined Celebs to Broadcast Mental Health PSA on Every UK Radio Station

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Queen Elizabeth II Dies, Mourning Period Begins

TV shows suspended, ads pulled as world's second-longest reigning monarch passes away

Rebecca Stewart

Stephen Lepitak

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Rebecca Stewart

Stephen Lepitak