The makers of Fallout: London, an ambitious mod for Fallout 4 set in everyone’s favorite post-apocalyptic hellscape, have announced they’re cutting two characters based on the late Queen Elizabeth II and then-Prince Charles. The announcement was initially made on Twitter on September 8th shortly after the Queen’s death, but the team’s project lead Dean Carter officially announced the change during a recent development update.

“We have always maintained that if she was to pass away before the mod was complete we would change it,” Carter said. “Do not expect them in there. There’s no point asking in the comments. There’s no point moaning. It’s the official stance of the mod and it will not change.”

Concept art of the two characters show an undead-looking Queen Elizabeth II flanked by two murderous corgies, while a similarly ghoulish King Charles III is decked out in a morning suit paired with either a crown or top hat. 

Yes, technically both royals were always going to have died before the mod’s setting in the year 2237. But including a recently-deceased woman as a “ghoul” could be seen as pretty poor taste, and you can understand why a small team of developers might want to avoid getting embroiled in any unnecessary controversy. 

Although these specific characters won’t be making an appearance, it sounds like the team has plans to replace them. Carter didn’t offer any specifics during the update video, noting only that we’ll have to “wait and see” what the team comes up with. 

Fallout: London is currently due for release sometime in 2023, and it’s already become one of the most highly-anticipated mods for the game. Bethesda recently featured the mod on its blog under its “Monthly Modder” series, and Kotaku reports that the publisher has hired multiple members of the team based on their work on the mod. It hired Fallout: London’s lead technical adviser Ryan Johnson earlier this year, head writer Stephanie Zachariadis in 2021, and made a job offer to project lead Dean Carter which he turned down.