Britain bids grand farewell to 'Iron Lady'
Source: Agencies |
April 18, 2013, Thursday
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Print Edition
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ROYALTY, dignitaries and admirers from all walks of life paid their final respects to Margaret Thatcher yesterday in the grandest funeral for a British leader in half a century - although a few boos from the London crowd were a reminder of her divisive rule.
The right-wing former prime minister whom the Soviet Union christened the "Iron Lady" was bid farewell with military honors, patriotic hymns, cheers and tears.
Her coffin was borne on a horse-drawn gun carriage then soldiers and sailors carried her casket into St Paul's Cathedral for a service attended by Queen Elizabeth and 11 serving prime ministers from around the world. Outside, thousands of supporters lined the route, some throwing blue roses in her path.
Opponents chanted "Ding dong the witch is dead" and turned their backs on her coffin as it passed by - an indication of the divisions which Britain's longest serving prime minister of the 20th Century still provokes due to the tumultuous change she brought.
Thatcher sought to arrest Britain's post-war decline with free-market economic policies which enraged her left-wing opponents by smashing the unions and privatizing Britain's national assets. Her supporters view her as a champion of freedom while her opponents accuse her of destroying communities and ushering in an era of greed.
Conflicting opinions
"The storm of conflicting opinions centers on the Mrs Thatcher who became a symbolic figure, even an ism, but today the remains of the real Margaret Hilda Roberts are here at her funeral service," the Bishop of London, Richard Chartres, told mourners inside St Paul's.
Tears ran down the face of Britain's finance minister George Osborne during the address. The cleric brought smiles to the faces of former leader Tony Blair, David Cameron's wife Samantha and other mourners when he recounted a story about her telling him not to eat duck pate because it was fattening.
Cameron and Amanda, Thatcher's 19-year old granddaughter, read from the New Testament while patriotic hymns echoed around the ornately decorated dome of the 300-year-old cathedral.
The service was attended by 2,300 mourners including former British prime ministers and the government's entire cabinet, two heads of state and 17 foreign ministers. Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger also attended.
Thousands of supporters lined the streets of London as her casket made its final journey from the center of British political power in Westminster to the cathedral. Most people clapped in respect but about two dozen opponents turned their backs on the procession.
One man held up a placard reading "Boo!" and some shouted "scum" while supporters threw flowers and cheered.
Thatcher, who governed Britain from 1979 to 1990, died on April 8 aged 87 after suffering a stroke.
Britons unhappy
Polls have shown that many Britons are unhappy that the estimated 10-million pound (US$15 million) bill for the ceremonial funeral is being picked up by the taxpayer at a time of austerity and spending cuts.
The late leader was honored with a gun salute from the Tower of London every minute and the silencing of the Big Ben bell at the Houses of Parliament.
British military bandsmen played Beethoven, Mendelssohn and Chopin to accompany the grandest funeral for a British politician since that of Thatcher's hero, Winston Churchill, in 1965.
"She was the first woman prime minister, she served for longer in the job than anyone for 150 years, she achieved some extraordinary things in her life," said Cameron, current leader of the Conservative Party. "What is happening today is absolutely fitting and right," he said, dismissing the critics.
A handwritten note placed on a wreath of white flowers on her coffin read: "Beloved mother - always in our hearts."
More than 700 armed forces personnel from units that served in the 1982 Falklands War against Argentina lined the streets.
There were notable absences. Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and Nancy Reagan, the widow of Thatcher's great US friend and ally Ronald Reagan, were too frail to attend. The guest list for her funeral has prompted talk of diplomatic snubs. The United States did not send a senior figure from President Barack Obama's administration. Argentina's ambassador refused to attend after Britain failed to invite Argentinian President Cristina Fernandez, at the Thatcher family's request, amid renewed tensions over the Falkland Islands, also known as the Malvinas in Argentina.
Relations have been strained since the 1982 war, when Thatcher ordered a task force to retake the South Atlantic territory after Argentinian troops seized it.
The right-wing former prime minister whom the Soviet Union christened the "Iron Lady" was bid farewell with military honors, patriotic hymns, cheers and tears.
Her coffin was borne on a horse-drawn gun carriage then soldiers and sailors carried her casket into St Paul's Cathedral for a service attended by Queen Elizabeth and 11 serving prime ministers from around the world. Outside, thousands of supporters lined the route, some throwing blue roses in her path.
Opponents chanted "Ding dong the witch is dead" and turned their backs on her coffin as it passed by - an indication of the divisions which Britain's longest serving prime minister of the 20th Century still provokes due to the tumultuous change she brought.
Thatcher sought to arrest Britain's post-war decline with free-market economic policies which enraged her left-wing opponents by smashing the unions and privatizing Britain's national assets. Her supporters view her as a champion of freedom while her opponents accuse her of destroying communities and ushering in an era of greed.
Conflicting opinions
"The storm of conflicting opinions centers on the Mrs Thatcher who became a symbolic figure, even an ism, but today the remains of the real Margaret Hilda Roberts are here at her funeral service," the Bishop of London, Richard Chartres, told mourners inside St Paul's.
Tears ran down the face of Britain's finance minister George Osborne during the address. The cleric brought smiles to the faces of former leader Tony Blair, David Cameron's wife Samantha and other mourners when he recounted a story about her telling him not to eat duck pate because it was fattening.
Cameron and Amanda, Thatcher's 19-year old granddaughter, read from the New Testament while patriotic hymns echoed around the ornately decorated dome of the 300-year-old cathedral.
The service was attended by 2,300 mourners including former British prime ministers and the government's entire cabinet, two heads of state and 17 foreign ministers. Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger also attended.
Thousands of supporters lined the streets of London as her casket made its final journey from the center of British political power in Westminster to the cathedral. Most people clapped in respect but about two dozen opponents turned their backs on the procession.
One man held up a placard reading "Boo!" and some shouted "scum" while supporters threw flowers and cheered.
Thatcher, who governed Britain from 1979 to 1990, died on April 8 aged 87 after suffering a stroke.
Britons unhappy
Polls have shown that many Britons are unhappy that the estimated 10-million pound (US$15 million) bill for the ceremonial funeral is being picked up by the taxpayer at a time of austerity and spending cuts.
The late leader was honored with a gun salute from the Tower of London every minute and the silencing of the Big Ben bell at the Houses of Parliament.
British military bandsmen played Beethoven, Mendelssohn and Chopin to accompany the grandest funeral for a British politician since that of Thatcher's hero, Winston Churchill, in 1965.
"She was the first woman prime minister, she served for longer in the job than anyone for 150 years, she achieved some extraordinary things in her life," said Cameron, current leader of the Conservative Party. "What is happening today is absolutely fitting and right," he said, dismissing the critics.
A handwritten note placed on a wreath of white flowers on her coffin read: "Beloved mother - always in our hearts."
More than 700 armed forces personnel from units that served in the 1982 Falklands War against Argentina lined the streets.
There were notable absences. Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and Nancy Reagan, the widow of Thatcher's great US friend and ally Ronald Reagan, were too frail to attend. The guest list for her funeral has prompted talk of diplomatic snubs. The United States did not send a senior figure from President Barack Obama's administration. Argentina's ambassador refused to attend after Britain failed to invite Argentinian President Cristina Fernandez, at the Thatcher family's request, amid renewed tensions over the Falkland Islands, also known as the Malvinas in Argentina.
Relations have been strained since the 1982 war, when Thatcher ordered a task force to retake the South Atlantic territory after Argentinian troops seized it.
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