Posted on 04/17/2013 4:01:23 AM PDT by beaversmom
As a choice to lead Lady Thatcher's funeral service the bishop of London to use his full title, the Right Reverend and Right Honourable Richard Chartres, KCVO appears on the face of it the safest, most establishment-friendly choice possible.
The 65-year-old, who has occupied the number three role in the church since 1995, is not only close to the Thatcher family but is also a confidant of the royals, a friend of Prince Charles who officiated at Prince William's confirmation and, later, his wedding to Kate Middleton. He is a trustee of Princess Diana's will and a privy councillor, the latter granting him the "right honourable" prefix.
But when the white-bearded, intellectually formidable cleric rises to give the address at St Paul's, his own diocesan cathedral, some will be anticipating his words with a little nervousness.
For all his insider credentials and generally conservative views, Chartres was at the centre of one of the more bitter church-government rows during Thatcher's prime ministership. In 1982, as Robert Runcie's junior chaplain, Chartres wrote the then archbishop of Canterbury's sermon for the post-Falklands thanksgiving service.
This enraged Thatcher by calling on the congregation to pray for the dead of both sides and criticising "those who stay at home, most violent in their attitudes and untouched in themselves". The words were all the more stinging delivered by Runcie, who was awarded the Military Cross as a tank commander in the second world war.
The controversy anticipated Chartres's own future career. While largely seen as a conservative he has veered into occasionally unexpected views and actions, a habit allies see as honest and freethinking but viewed by some critics as occasionally opportunistic. When St Paul's was fringed by a tented camp of Occupy protesters, Chartres joined a debate with activists about corporate culture...
(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...
Who represented the United States of America at Mrs. Thatcher’s memorial service? Obama certainly gave high honors to the very dead Venezuelan Dictator Chavez .
BDUs at such a formal and solemn occasion?
From what I read she didn’t want her funeral to be a formal occasion.
That pic was just practice. They’re in regular dress uniforms now. Video here;
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/blog/2013/apr/17/lady-thatcher-funeral-live-blog
I was very pleased to hear the repeated references to Jesus being the Way, the Truth, and the Life. And from a Church of England bishop, no less!
Looks like these Lobsterbacks are heading for a Concord Bridge reenactment tomorrow.
That’s more like it! RIP great ally!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.