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Civic leaders in Scotland have met to discuss how to deal with the Queen’s death.

Operation London Bridge, involving provosts from main cities, was discussed at secret summit in Glasgow, where ceremonial protocols were laid down.

The Times reports that the Scottish Provosts Association met at the Lighthouse in Glasgow, Scotland’s Centre for Design and Architecture, to go over the arrangements for the Queen’s funeral.

The meeting was a refresher course and was not prompted by any imminent fears on the monarch’s health.

(Image: PA)

One attendee said: “It was a provost’s association meeting. We were getting briefed on a very sensitive issue.”

If the Queen passes away at Balmoral, the castle in Aberdeenshire where she spends three months of the year, her body would be transferred to Edinburgh where it would lie at Holyroodhouse, at the end of the Royal Mile.

From there it would be carried just over half a mile to St Giles’s Cathedral for a service of reception, before being put on board the Royal Train at Waverley station for the journey to London.

Crowds are expected to gather at level crossings and on station platforms across the country. Another train would follow behind the one carrying the Queen to clear debris from the tracks.

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The first plans for Operation London Bridge date back to the 1960s. Meetings involving about a dozen government departments, the police, the Army, broadcasters and the Royal Parks take place two or three times a year in various locations across London.

The coffin must have a false lid, to hold the crown jewels, with a rim at least three inches high. The route has also been timed at 28 minutes for a slow march from the doors of St James’s to the entrance of Westminster Hall.

It is thought that authorities are also preparing for the death of Prince Philip.

He did not attend the Christmas service at Sandringham, and he missed the annual Whitehall Remembrance ceremony in November the first time in two decades. The Duke of Edinburgh, 97, retired from public service last year. The royal family said that he was in good health.

Cosla, the umbrella group that represents Scottish councils, did not respond to a request for comment.