Letters of Last Resort

Imagine a super important grown-up, like the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, writes secret letters. These aren't for birthdays or holidays! They are for a very, very, very bad day, like if a giant meteor hit or something terrible happened. There are four of these letters, and they are all exactly the same. They are kept super safe on special submarines that float in the ocean.

These letters are like a backup plan for a really, really, really bad situation. If something happened that made it impossible for the leaders of the country to talk or give orders, these letters would tell the people in charge of the big, powerful submarines what to do. It's like having a secret instruction manual for the worst-case scenario ever, to make sure someone is still in charge.

The most amazing thing is that no one knows what's inside these letters except the person who wrote them! When the Prime Minister who wrote the letters leaves their job, the letters are burned up without anyone ever reading them. This is to keep the secret safe, so only the person who wrote them knows the special instructions for that very last resort.

These special letters are like a promise that even if the worst happens, there's a plan. They are written by hand and are super important. They are kept on submarines that are as big as a school bus and can travel deep under the sea. If the leaders of the country are all gone, the people on the submarine might have to follow the instructions in these letters. It's a very serious and secret plan.