Queen Elizabeth II, the United Kingdom’s longest-serving monarch, died on Thursday, September 8. While the Queen’s death does not create a political vacuum of import in Britain’s parliamentary democracy-based polity, the British Broadcasting Channel (BBC), defined the Queen as a symbol of constancy in a world fraught with change. The Queen’s passing away remained the biggest trend on social media all through the weekend in many parts of the world.

Perhaps of their own accord, or perhaps because it’s unwise for a brand to not interact with an online conversation that has large parts of the world hooked, they saw it pertinent to alter their logos and issue condolence messages on social media after the Queen’s passing. 

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Domino’s Pizza, the American multinational pizza chain, saw its UK unit come up with what was among the first responses among brands after news of the Queen’s death arrived. The multinational pizza chain turned its logo black and put out a statement saying: “Everyone at Dominoes joins the nation and the world in mourning the death of Queen Elizabeth II. Our thoughts and condolences are with the Royal Family.”

Heinz, another multinational food corporation, also put out a black logo along with a statement reading: “Everyone at Heinz is deeply saddened by the passing of Queen Elizabeth II and offer our sincerest condolences to all members of the Royal Family at this time. We are so grateful for the extraordinary service she gave to the nation.”

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Google, one of the world’s most powerful brands today, turned its logo grey to mourn the death of Queen Elizabeth II. Google’s logo turned grey in most parts of the world, first in UK and then elsewhere. Google CEO Sundar Pichai tweeted: “Sending our deepest condolences to the people of the UK and around the world mourning the passing of Queen Elizabeth II. Her steadfast leadership and public service have been a constant through many of our lifetimes. She will be missed,” on Twitter.

BBC, the British Broadcasting Corporation, UK’s state-sponsored news network, turned its logo black hours after the death of Queen Elizabeth the II. The BBC’s colour change, however, is said to be part of Operation London Bridge – the protocol set for the Queen’s death which begins with the Queen’s private secretary calling the Prime Minister to say: “London Bridge is down.”