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Britain, world figures bid farewell to Thatcher
Source: AFP |
April 17, 2013, Wednesday
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THE funeral of Margaret Thatcher takes place on Wednesday, with Queen Elizabeth II leading mourners from around the world in bidding farewell to one of Britain's most influential and divisive prime ministers.
Seven hundred soldiers, sailors and airmen in full ceremonial uniform will line the streets of London as Thatcher's coffin is transported on a gun carriage to a service at St Paul's Cathedral.
Although it is not officially a state funeral, Britain has pulled out all the stops for the Iron Lady, who transformed the country and helped end the Cold War during her 11 years in power.
The ceremony, nine days after Thatcher died from a stroke aged 87, will be the first time the queen has attended a prime ministerial funeral since Winston Churchill died in 1965.
Thatcher's coffin was kept overnight at the 13th-century Chapel of St Mary Undercroft in Westminster, after a private ceremony attended by her 59-year-old twins Mark and Carol and former colleagues.
At 10:00am (0900 GMT) on Wednesday the coffin will be dressed with the Union flag and taken by hearse to another church on the Strand, where it will be transferred to a gun carriage drawn by six black horses for a procession down Fleet Street to St Paul's.
Members of the military will line the route and a Royal Marines band will lead the way playing funeral marches by Chopin, Beethoven and Mendelssohn.
The chimes of parliament's famous Big Ben bell will be silenced during the procession, which is expected to be watched by crowds of well-wishers along the route.
The service is due to start at 11:00 am (1000 GMT) and will include readings from the Bible, Christian hymns and a final blessing by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby.
Prime Minister David Cameron will give one reading, while Thatcher's granddaughter Amanda will give another.
Britain's first female prime minister, who was in office from 1979 to 1990, had suffered from dementia and had rarely been seen in public for years before her death on April 8.
Seven hundred soldiers, sailors and airmen in full ceremonial uniform will line the streets of London as Thatcher's coffin is transported on a gun carriage to a service at St Paul's Cathedral.
Although it is not officially a state funeral, Britain has pulled out all the stops for the Iron Lady, who transformed the country and helped end the Cold War during her 11 years in power.
The ceremony, nine days after Thatcher died from a stroke aged 87, will be the first time the queen has attended a prime ministerial funeral since Winston Churchill died in 1965.
Thatcher's coffin was kept overnight at the 13th-century Chapel of St Mary Undercroft in Westminster, after a private ceremony attended by her 59-year-old twins Mark and Carol and former colleagues.
At 10:00am (0900 GMT) on Wednesday the coffin will be dressed with the Union flag and taken by hearse to another church on the Strand, where it will be transferred to a gun carriage drawn by six black horses for a procession down Fleet Street to St Paul's.
Members of the military will line the route and a Royal Marines band will lead the way playing funeral marches by Chopin, Beethoven and Mendelssohn.
The chimes of parliament's famous Big Ben bell will be silenced during the procession, which is expected to be watched by crowds of well-wishers along the route.
The service is due to start at 11:00 am (1000 GMT) and will include readings from the Bible, Christian hymns and a final blessing by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby.
Prime Minister David Cameron will give one reading, while Thatcher's granddaughter Amanda will give another.
Britain's first female prime minister, who was in office from 1979 to 1990, had suffered from dementia and had rarely been seen in public for years before her death on April 8.
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