8 replies to this topic

[Godeskian]

http://www.bbc.co.uk...litics-22067155

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Former Prime Minister Baroness Thatcher has died "peacefully" at the age of 87 after suffering a stroke, her family has announced.

Successor David Cameron called her a "great Briton" and the Queen spoke of her sadness at the death.

Lady Thatcher was Conservative prime minister from 1979 to 1990. She was the first woman to hold the role.

She will not have a state funeral but will be accorded the same status as Princess Diana and the Queen Mother.

[QueenTiye]

God speed her journey.

What does it mean "she will not have a state funeral but will be accorded the same status as Princess Diana and the Queen Mother"?

[Mikoto]

I'm not sure QT. Its very odd phrasing. She isn't a royal.

I read a bit more and apparently she's to have a ceremonial funeral with military honours which is one step down from a state funeral.

I didn't agree with some of what she did as prime minister but I greatly respect her personal strength, conviction and belief for overcoming all the odds set against her.

[SparkyCola]

^ Yep. Well Said.

I don't agree with some things she did either. But I believe in credit where it is due - and she played a pivotal role in ending the cold war and opening up relations between USA, UK and Russia. She also won us the Falklands war. She was an unforgettable PM who had the courage of her convictions and actually did something.

Hope she rests in peace.

Sparky

[Raeven]

Agreed Sparky and Miko

[offworlder]

she sure was a weathervane of my time; the funeral: it's just the level of officialdom, what guests must come, ettiquette, all that ; and a royal member will go but not HM; since she was a weathervane of the HRH Charles time it might be him. ..... I know more about her now since seeing the movie with Meryl, and her lapsing memory by later times, and her escaping death when the hotel was bombed, and when she was edged out to leave No. Ten.

amid all the tons on her today, here are two choice picks,
http://www.guardian....nsformed-by-war
http://www.guardian....cher-do-britain

Edited by offworlder, 08 April 2013 - 03:34 PM.

[Rhea]

She was a truly remarkable woman.

Lady Thatcher asked for the military presence at her funeral. As for the ceremonial aspect, my guess is it's because the Queen apparently held her in very high regard. As I understand it, a full state funeral also requires a vote from Parliament, which takes time. Spouses of monarchs/royalty get ceremonial funerals rather than state funerals - hence the reference to the Queen Mother and Princess Diana.

From Wiki:

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However, a few historical civilians of profound achievement, exceptional military leaders, and notable politicians have also been honoured with a full state funeral, including, for example, Sir Isaac Newton, Lord Nelson, and Sir Winston Churchill.

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Benjamin Disraeli was offered the honour of a state funeral, but refused it in his will. The famous nurse and statistician Florence Nightingale was also offered a state funeral, but her family opted for a private ceremony. Charles Darwin (died 1882) was honoured by a major funeral in Westminster Abbey, attended by state representatives, but this does not seem to have been a state funeral in the formal sense.

And she's gotten a ceremonial funeral, which is one step down. For a full state funeral, sailors pull the gun carriage with the coffin in it.  For ceremonial funerals, horses draw the gun carriage.  I can't tell you where I read it because I've read several biographies of Queen Victoria, but at her funeral the horses bolted, so that's why in state funerals the gun carriage is now drawn by sailors - to prevent an undignified exit, so to speak.

[Alica]

It's confirmed that the Queen and Prince Philip will attend the funeral next week http://www.telegraph...rs-funeral.html

[Rhea]

It's also confirmed that the lady herself didn't want a state funeral, which had been discussed and she declined the usual fly by of jets a waste of taxpayers' money. Good common sense right to the end.