Posted on 04/17/2013 10:04:17 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Lady Thatcher, Britain's first female prime minister, was borne to St Paul's Cathedral for a ceremonial funeral as thousands lined central London's streets to witness her final journey.
With full military honours, the coffin bearing the body of one of Britain's most divisive politicians of modern times was escorted by members of all three armed forces to a service before a congregation of 2,300 from across the globe and led by the Queen.
Although not officially a state funeral, as accorded to Sir Winston Churchill, the event was conducted with a level of pomp and ceremony not witnessed in London since the death of the Queen Mother in 2002.
Her children, Sir Mark Thatcher and his twin sister Carol, and her American grandchildren, Michael and Amanda, listened as the bishop of London, acknowledging the bitter debate over her legacy, said this was not the time or place for such matters.
In a powerful address, the Right Rev Richard Chartres, a friend of Thatcher, who died last week aged 87 following a stroke, defended her and firmly rejected the assertion that she did not believe in society. She had overcome hurdles and experienced many rebuffs, and applied herself to work with "formidable energy and passion", he said.
"Her later remark about there being no such thing as 'society' has been misunderstood and refers to some impersonal entity to which we are tempted to surrender our independence," he said.
Acknowledging her as a polarising figure, he told the congregation: "After the storm of a life led in the heat of political controversy, there is a great calm.
"The storm of conflicting opinions centres on the Mrs Thatcher who became a symbolic figure – even an 'ism'."
(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...
Bravo, Dick ! !
W coming off back surgery and dad just got over being really sick and hospitalized for a long period of time.
I’m glad these people traveled to show respect for Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. I have a great deal of respect for her.
Great Britain lost a good one...
How good to see Bibi there .. well, all of 'em actually :-)
If I manage to outlive der Fuehrer,even if I have to handle the wheelchair itself, I will piss on his grave. That is still more honor than he deserves.
FUBO, FAD, down with the democrat party
For those who don’t remember, Netanyahu was the DEFENSE MINISTER during the first Gulf War to free Kuwait.
Thatcher was with the Israelis all the way ( even as Saddam’s missiles were going towards Israel ). That was the first time the Patriot Missiles were used in an actual war.
I can't say for "W," but hasn't Papa Bush been pretty ill lately? Probably not allowed to travel.
Mark
According to Post #22 above ...
“W coming off back surgery”
Good comments...
As for the Reagan and Pope John Paul comments...
You know, I see reason to rue the day the Soviet Union fell.
Many good thing came from it, but many bad things did as well.
The Middle-East has melted down in no small part from the fact that the old friction melted away, and Middle-Eastern players felt free to do whatever the hell they wanted.
Islamic ascension resulted.
In our own nation, you can’t even get people to bat an eye-lash when you mention the USSR. It means nothing to people who champion the policies the USSR was known for.
With the old friction, this world might actually be a better place today. As it is, the free-for-all atmosphere translated into impending doom internationally.
It’s at least food for thought.
No slam on Reagan and the Pope is intended. They did exactly as I desired.
Here’s a description of what transpired:
The military were everywhere in London today—guarding the flag-draped casket, escorting the casket, carrying the casket, saluting the casket—featuring soldiers, sailors and airmen primarily from units involved in the Falklands War Thatcher successfully lead in 1982 to regain that British territory from Argentina.
Three military bands standing along the funeral route played martial music at subdued volume to match the somber occasion. Six black horses, their manes shorn, pulled the casket on a World War I gun carriage. The procession band, their drums draped in black, played the funeral marches of Chopin, Mendelssohn and Beethoven.
A ceremonial minute gun fired salutes from the Tower of London throughout the 20-minute procession. All government flags at home and abroad were flown at half-mast for 12 hours. There were no early signs of the threatened protests.
Prime Minister David Cameron read from the King James Bible her favorite verse John 14.1 beginning: “Let not your heart be troubled.”
The sonorous chimes of London’s iconic Big Ben clock were silenced throughout the procession and service.
There was, however, no traditional RAF flyover. The conservative Thatcher left word she would find that a waste of precious pounds.
Among the many dignitaries attending today’s service were former prime ministers John Major, Gordon Brown and Tony Blair along with Canadian leaders Stephen Harper and Brian Mulroney and several Middle Eastern leaders.
Cultural icons such as Michael Caine, David Frost, Richard Attenborough, Shirley Bassey, Michael Crawford and Andrew Lloyd-Webber also attended, as did 10 staff members from the Ritz Hotel as a symbol of appreciation for their care during Thatcher’s last weeks.
Henry Kissinger, Newt Gingrich and Dick Cheney attended as private U.S. citizens.
President Obama has created his own reputation as anti-British through serial snubs of its leaders and gifts.
Whether there’s a connection between his obvious feelings and Britain’s colonial rule of Kenya, the homeland of Obama’s absentee father, is really irrelevant. It’s shown Obama as a petty, parochial pol, hardly presidential.
The Democrat is often photographed with his feet atop the presidential desk, a gift from Britain decades ago made from the timbers of a British man-of-war.
You may recall on his first day in the Oval Office, Obama ordered the gift bust of Winston Churchill removed and returned to Britain. He famously gave Brown a gift of American movie DVD’s, which won’t play on British machines.
He’s declined to appear jointly with some Brits and generously gave the queen an iPod packed with recordings of his own speeches.
But Obama trumped himself this week by declining to send any representative of his administration to the funeral of free-market advocate Thatcher. The Chicago Democrat appointed instead two former secretaries of State in Republican administrations—James Baker and George Schultz—and a staffer from the embassy in London.
Edit to add...
RE: Thatcher’s Favorite Bible verse (“Let not your heart be troubled.”)
Sean Hannity keeps using that line too :)
RE: FUBO, FAD, down with the democrat party
Someone should have told Obama they have great golf courses in Britain...
:)
Thanks for posting this.
RIP PM Thatcher. Our country owes you a huge debt of gratitude. I’m sorry that our “pres_ent” could not be bothered to send someone from the current administration to your funeral.
Believe me it was a slap in everyone’s face.
I read on another thread that the Loser in Chief sent an embassy staffer from London as a representative.
Here’s the article: http://news.investors.com/politics-andrew-malcolm/041713-652200-margaret-thatcher-funeral-obama-snub.htm?p=full
And a blurb from it:But Obama trumped himself this week by declining to send any representative of his administration to the funeral of free-market advocate Thatcher. The Chicago Democrat appointed instead two former secretaries of State in Republican administrations—James Baker and George Schultz—and a staffer from the embassy in London.
P.S. Article linked to in post above really is worth a read.
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