Military rehearsal for Thatcher funeral
Source: AFP |
April 16, 2013, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
A pre-dawn military rehearsal was held yesterday in preparation for Margaret Thatcher's funeral, while officials announced the familiar bells of the Big Ben clock tower will be silenced for the actual event.
In advance of tomorrow's funeral at St Paul's Cathedral, a flag-draped coffin was carried by horse-drawn carriage yesterday to the famous domed cathedral in central London. Some 700 Armed Forces personnel were in place for the drill.
The funeral of the former prime minister who died last week at the age of 87 will be attended by Queen Elizabeth II, her husband Prince Philip, and numerous foreign dignitaries.
House of Commons Speaker John Bercow said the clock tower bells would be silenced during the funeral as a way to show respect for Thatcher.
The last time the bells were silenced was for the funeral of wartime leader Winston Churchill, except for a period when the clock needed repair in the 1970s.
The funeral will be surrounded by tight security as police fear protesters opposed to her political legacy and anarchists could try to disrupt the ceremonial occasion. A major security operation has been planned, amid fears it could be disrupted by far-left groups, Irish republicans or individuals obsessed with the Iron Lady.
Hundreds of people staged celebrations of her death in Trafalgar Square on Saturday, and several said they would return to demonstrate when her flag-draped coffin is carried through the streets of London.
In advance of tomorrow's funeral at St Paul's Cathedral, a flag-draped coffin was carried by horse-drawn carriage yesterday to the famous domed cathedral in central London. Some 700 Armed Forces personnel were in place for the drill.
The funeral of the former prime minister who died last week at the age of 87 will be attended by Queen Elizabeth II, her husband Prince Philip, and numerous foreign dignitaries.
House of Commons Speaker John Bercow said the clock tower bells would be silenced during the funeral as a way to show respect for Thatcher.
The last time the bells were silenced was for the funeral of wartime leader Winston Churchill, except for a period when the clock needed repair in the 1970s.
The funeral will be surrounded by tight security as police fear protesters opposed to her political legacy and anarchists could try to disrupt the ceremonial occasion. A major security operation has been planned, amid fears it could be disrupted by far-left groups, Irish republicans or individuals obsessed with the Iron Lady.
Hundreds of people staged celebrations of her death in Trafalgar Square on Saturday, and several said they would return to demonstrate when her flag-draped coffin is carried through the streets of London.
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