ECG

I'm not disagreeing with you here, but given how long Charles has been in the public eye for, I'd have thought he'd try to put on a brave face unless he really wasn't able to. If it was due to family arguing, I would have expected him to try and put a brave face on. But in the photo that has been shared around, he looked somewhat defeated. I'm not wanting to be critical of Charles, because he'll know a lot more than we do, but I'd have thought that he wouldn't allow himself to be seen looking that upset for something like a family dispute.

What is the latest? I've just finished work and the last I saw was the vehicle waiting outside the hospital.

Given how they said that he'd be in hospital until after the weekend, I can't see him being discharged. The only reason I could see that changing is if they thought he'd be able to spend a final few days or weeks at home. Either way, I don't think it's good news.

I dunno. Like the rest of us, I'm just taking a semi-educated guess.

I could see that been the case. The Royal Family have also seemed keen to be leading by example, and following the same rules as everybody. As a result, they might have decided to say their goodbyes over video call (like many other families) and have Philip's son be the one person to go in and say his goodbyes in person.

They cope with the EastEnders spike. If push comes to shove, they'll just have to get some extra generators on.

Very true, but I reckon that given how the Royal Family has been quite hush-hush about the matter, most readers would probably take the view that the publishers couldn't have known about the death before publication. Despite the speculation online, people appreciate news organisations holding themselves to slightly higher standards.

Well it would ring alarm bells if they didn't publish a front page, so there best off taking an article which would be going on their website anyway, and using that as a placeholder.

As said in the documentary I shared above, it was a regular news day. As a result, it fell to whomever was on duty that day. Martyn Lewis covered Diana, but he was called in and when the death was first confirmed, it was the person who was presenting on the BBC's international news channel.

Whilst we're on the topic of the announcement of a royal passing, I've just remembered this documentary which aired on ITV some years ago. There's a section where they cover what it was like to report on the death of the Queen Mother:

I was only a little kid at the time so I don't remember directly. If I recall correctly, whilst there were mumbling about the Queen Mother in the hours before her passing, there was no official statements in the lead up to her passing.

I've 'eard from me dad's mate's colleague's cousin that the beeb will announce the ol' geezers snuffed it at 10.30

If they expect to be covering a major death, chances are they'd submit a non-death front page, and without any reporting the death until morning.

You know things are bad when you find yourself agreeing with Piers Morgan.

Didn't they say Boris Johnson was in "good spirits" before he nearly died of COVID?

Normally, I'd believe the statements, but it's a bit more difficult this time because they've not been clear about what the issue is. Typically, if either Philip or Liz have been in hospital, they've been quite willing to say why they've been admitted to hospital. However, all they've said this time is that he is in for observations out of an abundance of caution. The fact that they've been quiet about his issue since he's been admitted makes me think that they are hiding something. It's less the fact that one or two things are slightly different from previous hospitalisations. It's the fact that several things are different.

That's what I've been thinking. Given that Charles was seemingly crying when he left, and the fact that the Palace hasn't given any more info since he was admitted, it's almost certain that something wrong. Even if he is actually doing OK, I'd still expect a slightly more substantial statement saying that he's OK, if a bit under the weather.

Sky News presenter is wearing a red dress. BBC News presenter is wearing black...

NO! Not the nonce! Anyone but the nonce!

Looking on the hospital's website, they're quite reluctant to allow visitors: And given that the royal family have been keep on following the rules like the rest of us, I doubt Charles would travel for three hours to visit Philip, unless they genuinely believed that it could be the last visit.

Just spoken to my mum (care home nurse), and she's reckons they wouldn't be allowing visits unless it's end of life.

Given that private hospitals could have different rules about COVID-19 visitation, I don't think we can take as much from it. However, I won't deny that it doesn't sound good.

Philip's now getting visitors:

I probably should have been a bit clearer. I meant that a lot of the initial processes and coverage would follow a similar protocol to Operation London Bridge. I do agree with you though that beyond the first hours, it will be different for Philip.

That's also true. If anybody wants to know more about the protocols for a royal death, I recommend searching 'Operation London Bridge'. This is the protocol for Queen Liz, but a lot of it will also be applicable to Prince Philip (Operation Forth Bridge).