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London Prepares for Thatcher’s Funeral London Prepares for Thatcher’s Funeral
(about 1 hour later)
LONDON — Police officers closed off main thoroughfares in central London on Wednesday as the city prepared for the ceremonial funeral of Margaret Thatcher, the country’s first female prime minister whose radical, market-driven policies made her one of its most divisive leaders.LONDON — Police officers closed off main thoroughfares in central London on Wednesday as the city prepared for the ceremonial funeral of Margaret Thatcher, the country’s first female prime minister whose radical, market-driven policies made her one of its most divisive leaders.
In death as in life, Mrs. Thatcher has become an object of fierce debate since she died of a stroke last week at age 87. Even the nature of Wednesday’s ceremony — a state funeral in all but name with full military honors — has provoked complaints about its cost and appropriateness. The last British politician to be accorded such honors was Winston Churchill almost five decades ago. In death as in life, Mrs. Thatcher has become an object of fierce debate since she died of a stroke last week at age 87. Even the nature of Wednesday’s ceremony — a state funeral in all but name with full military honors — has provoked complaints about its cost and appropriateness. The last British politician to be accorded such a parting accolade was Winston Churchill in 1965.
Mrs. Thatcher’s coffin lay overnight in a chapel in Parliament. It is to be transported on Wednesday in a solemn cortege, first by a hearse, then by a horse-drawn gun carriage with a mounted escort, to the soaring St. Paul’s Cathedral, along major thoroughfares such as the Strand, Trafalgar Square and Whitehall that have been closed to traffic. Mrs. Thatcher’s coffin lay overnight in the historic chapel of St. Mary Undercroft in Parliament where the English Civil War leader Oliver Cromwell was said to have stabled his horses in the 17th century. It is to be transported on Wednesday in a solemn cortege, first by a hearse, then by a horse-drawn gun carriage with a mounted escort, to the soaring St. Paul’s Cathedral, along major thoroughfares such as the Strand, Trafalgar Square and Whitehall that have been closed to traffic.
Officials were already concerned about the possibility of disruption by Mrs. Thatcher’s political foes. But after Monday’s bombing of the Boston Marathon, police have indicated that security will be tighter, particularly in light of the array of dignitaries from around the world among the 2,000-plus guests in St. Paul’s. Some 4,000 police officers are on duty for the funeral, along with an honor guard of 700 military personnel. The organizers code-named their preparations True Blue, blue being the traditional color associated with Mrs. Thatcher’s Conservative party.
Officials were already concerned about the possibility of disruption by political foes of Mrs. Thatcher, the longest-serving British prime minister of the 20th century. But after Monday’s bombing of the Boston Marathon, police have indicated that security will be tighter, particularly in light of the array of dignitaries from around the world among the 2,300 guests in St. Paul’s.
Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip are to attend the ceremony along with hundreds of foreign dignitaries, including former Vice President Dick Cheney and former Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger.Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip are to attend the ceremony along with hundreds of foreign dignitaries, including former Vice President Dick Cheney and former Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger.
As a mark of respect, lawmakers have ordered the chimes of Big Ben to be silenced during the funeral, while artillery rounds boom from the Tower of London.As a mark of respect, lawmakers have ordered the chimes of Big Ben to be silenced during the funeral, while artillery rounds boom from the Tower of London.
Government officials have said the funeral service is designed avoid political overtones and will center on hymns and prayers.Government officials have said the funeral service is designed avoid political overtones and will center on hymns and prayers.
But one of the hymns at least — “I Vow to Tree, My Country,” with stirring, Victorian lyrics — is regarded as an anthem of the fierce patriotism ascribed to Mrs. Thatcher throughout her tenure from 1979 to 1990 and particularly when she ordered warships 8,000 miles across the Atlantic to dislodge Argentine troops from the Falkland Islands.But one of the hymns at least — “I Vow to Tree, My Country,” with stirring, Victorian lyrics — is regarded as an anthem of the fierce patriotism ascribed to Mrs. Thatcher throughout her tenure from 1979 to 1990 and particularly when she ordered warships 8,000 miles across the Atlantic to dislodge Argentine troops from the Falkland Islands.
That war, which claimed hundreds of lives, rankles still with Argentina, which claims the islands and whose ambassador, British news reports said, declined an invitation to attend Wednesday’s ceremony.That war, which claimed hundreds of lives, rankles still with Argentina, which claims the islands and whose ambassador, British news reports said, declined an invitation to attend Wednesday’s ceremony.
While some Britons have protested about the fanfare surrounding the funeral of Mrs. Thatcher — whose death certificate listed her occupation as “retired stateswoman” — Prime Minister David Cameron said in a BBC interview before attending the service that it would be “quite a somber event but it is a fitting tribute to a great prime minister, respected around the world.”
“I think other countries in the world would think Britain had got it completely wrong if we didn’t mark this in a proper way,” he said. But critics have claimed that the authorities have sought to cloak the true cost of the ceremony by not accounting for the deployment of the police and the military.