[29] In the event, the crowds were peaceful, with supporters drowning out most of the scattered protests with cheers and applause. The sword had last been used at Churchill's funeral. [12], Social media played a significant role in the aftermath of her death, with celebrities channelling polarised views about Thatcher on Twitter,[119] and endorsing campaigns and demonstrations. [43][44], On 10 April, two days following Thatcher's death, her son Mark spoke of his mother's death on the steps of her Chester Square home. A guard of honour was mounted by the Nijmegen Company of the Grenadier Guards, and the members of the Royal Family walking in the funeral procession arrived from Buckingham Palace and St. James's Palace. It started at 9:48 am on 9 April 2002, when the tenor bell of Westminster Abbey sounded 101 times, each chime representing a year that the Queen Mother had lived. At 10:40 am, the bearer party of the Irish Guards arrived at Westminster Hall, positioning themselves outside the North Door. [61], Many reactions were unsympathetic,[62] particularly from her opponents. [26], Anticipating possible protests and demonstrations along the route, police mounted one of the largest security operations since the 2012 Summer Olympics. [45] Three days later on 13 April her daughter Carol thanked President Obama of the United States and others for their tributes, and all those who had sent messages of sympathy and support. On 5 March 2002 she attended lunch at the annual lawn party of the Eton Beagles, and watched the Cheltenham races on television; but her health rapidly deteriorated during her last weeks after retreating to the Lodge for the final time. The service finished with the Last Post, the proclamation of the Queen Mother's styles and titles by the Garter King at Arms Peter Gwynn-Jones, Reveille and the national anthem. The sermon was given by Dr George Carey, the Archbishop of Canterbury,[29] and a reading from The Pilgrim's Progress was given by the Reverend Anthony Burnham, the Moderator of The Free Churches Group. [28] Members of the royal family were chauffeured to the Abbey's Great West Door at 11:05 am to be received by the Dean of Westminster (Wesley Carr) and Chapter, and conducted to St. George's Chapel. Due to polarised opinion about her achievements and legacy, reaction to her death was mixed in Britain and included contrasting praise, criticism, and celebration of her life and death. The government's national flag protocol dictates that union flags should be lowered to half mast on the funeral days of all former prime ministers;[86] however most Scottish councils did not lower the flag for the funeral. [47], Leader of the Opposition and Labour Party leader Ed Miliband said that she would be remembered for having "reshaped the politics of a whole generation [and moving] the centre ground of British politics" and for her stature in the world. A fly-past and a lying-in-state in Westminster Hall were among the events honouring King George VI’s consort. On 8 April 2013, former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, died of a stroke in London at the age of 87. The Witch Is Dead misses number one spot", "Anti-Margaret Thatcher song Ding Dong! Australian prime minister Julia Gillard expressed admiration for Thatcher's achievements as a woman. To the outsider, there is little difference between a state and ceremonial funeral. [47], Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader David Cameron cut short a visit to Spain and ordered flags to be flown at half-mast. The Witch Is Dead" from The Wizard of Oz into the UK Singles Chart,[121] followed by a counter-campaign adopted by Thatcher supporters in favour of the 1979 tongue-in-cheek punk song "I'm in Love with Margaret Thatcher" by the Notsensibles, which had been started by the band's lead singer. Celebrities respond to Thatcher's death on Twitter", "MPs join 'Grantham Style' campaign for pro-Thatcher hit", "Anti-Thatcher sentiment primed to sweep through singles charts", "Who's really behind 'I'm in love with Margaret Thatcher'? [93], Along with the eulogies and expressions of condolence, there were less than sympathetic reactions in Argentina, due to her role in the Falklands War,[95] and in South Africa, given her opposition to economic sanctions against apartheid South Africa. On 13 February she slipped in her sitting room at Sandringham,[6] causing considerable concern to her daughter, the Queen, and the rest of the royal family, but she travelled to Windsor by helicopter the following day. [99], Barack Obama, President of the United States, lamented the loss of "a true friend". 2 song but that a portion of it would be aired as part of a news item. A fly-past and a lying-in-state in Westminster Hall were among the events honouring King George VI’s consort. The car procession began at 12:35 pm, via Broad Sanctuary, the west side of Parliament Square, Whitehall, Horse Guards, Horse Guards Arch, The Mall, the south and west sides of Victoria Memorial, Constitution Hill, Wellington Arch, Hyde Park Corner, Queen Elizabeth Gate, South Carriage Drive, Queen's Gate, Great West Road and Datchet.[32][33]. Her ashes were buried at the Royal Hospital Chelsea, London, in a private ceremony on 28 September 2013, alongside those of her husband Denis. [12] She weakened further throughout March 2002, and died on 30 March (Easter Saturday), at 15:15 GMT, with her surviving daughter, Queen Elizabeth II, at her bedside. Policing costs amounted to £4.3 million and the Queen Mother’s lying-in-state came to £825,000, according to a House of Commons research briefing paper. [48][49] The deputy prime minister and leader of the Liberal Democrats, Nick Clegg, eulogised Thatcher as having defined modern British politics and that, while she may have "divided opinion" during her time, there would be scant disagreement about "the strength of her personality and the radicalism of her politics". [34], The Queen Mother's carriage, surmounted by her, The Queen Mother's funeral carriage. [39], Queen Elizabeth II led mourners at the funeral. [108], New Zealand prime minister John Key praised Thatcher's determination and expressed his "[sadness] for her family and Great Britain". [57][82][83] Left-wing director Ken Loach suggested privatising her funeral and tendering it for the cheapest bid. The Queen's state funeral will be the biggest ever seen in the UK - far eclipsing the likes of Princess Diana, the Queen Mother and Margaret Thatcher. [14], The scale and the cost to the taxpayer of the funeral, inaccurately estimated before the event at up to £10 million in total, was also criticised by public figures including the Bishop of Grantham, Lord Prescott and George Galloway. [59][53] Retired MP Tony Benn, former London mayor, Ken Livingstone, and Paul Kenny, General Secretary of the GMB trade union, stated that her policies were divisive and her legacy involved "the destruction of communities, the elevation of personal greed over social values and legitimising the exploitation of the weak by the strong",[60] however Benn did acknowledge some of her personal qualities. Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, LG, OM, DStJ, PC, FRS, HonFRSC (née Roberts; 13 October 1925 – 8 April 2013) was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. [37], It was expected that there would be about 2,300 mourners within St Paul's Cathedral for the funeral. [122][123] On 12 April 2013, "Ding-Dong!" [7][8] She had been staying in a suite there since December 2012, after having difficulty using the stairs at her house in Chester Square. [63], Swedish prime minister Fredrik Reinfeldt said she was "an ideologue among pragmatists". Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor was born at 02:40 on 21 April 1926, during the reign of her paternal grandfather, King George V.Her father, the Duke of York (later King George VI), was the second son of the King.Her mother, the Duchess of York (later Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother), was the youngest daughter of Scottish aristocrat the Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne. [120] Anti-Thatcher sentiment prompted a campaign on social media networks to bring the song "Ding-Dong! [52], Former Green Party leader Caroline Lucas voiced regret that, although Thatcher was the first female prime minister, "she did little for women either inside or outside the House of Commons". [2] But despite her illness, she pre-recorded a eulogy for the funeral of Ronald Reagan in June 2004, and attended her 80th birthday celebration in 2005 with the Queen and 650 other guests in attendance. She was the longest-serving British prime minister of the 20th century and the first woman to hold that office. The Queen Mother’s funeral arrangements in 2002 cost more than £5.4 million. [17] However, Peter Oborne in The Daily Telegraph argued that the scale of the ceremony amounted to a de facto state funeral and disagreed with the status of a ceremonial funeral. The public funeral of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother occurred on Tuesday, 9 April 2002 in Westminster Abbey in London, following her death on 30 March 2002 at the age of 101. [101], French president François Hollande and German chancellor Angela Merkel remarked that Thatcher left "a deep impression on her country's history". [110], Romanian president Traian Băsescu and the premier and foreign minister of Bulgaria, Marin Raykov, cited her influence on them, and sent their condolences. [24][25] The following members of the Royal Family followed the procession: The Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Charles, Prince Andrew, Princess Anne, Prince Edward, Prince William, Prince Harry, Viscount Linley, Peter Phillips, Daniel Chatto, The Duke of Gloucester, The Duke of Kent, Prince Michael of Kent and Timothy Laurence. [15] Specifically, Thatcher had chosen the hymns and stipulated that the prime minister of the day would deliver a reading from the Bible. [27][28] Against the backdrop of the bombings at the Boston Marathon two days earlier, it was announced that over 4,000 police officers would be deployed. The coffin was then taken to the Abbey, about 300 metres away, accompanied by a massed pipe band of 128 musicians drawn from 13 British and Commonwealth regiments. The anthems were How lovely are they dwellings fair by Johannes Brahms and Holy is the true light by William Henry Harris. [30]:10.43 am Muffled bells tolled at St Margaret's Church at Westminster Abbey,[30]:10.02 am and at St Paul's. The Witch is Dead fails to reach number one", "R1 Chart show will not play full Margaret Thatcher song", "Radio 1's Chart Show on Sunday 14 April 2013", Final guest list for Lady Thatcher's funeral, "Margaret Thatcher sharp as ever, says MP Mark Pritchard", 2002: Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother (Operation Tay Bridge), 2021: The Duke of Edinburgh (Operation Forth Bridge), Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act (1960), Statecraft: Strategies for a Changing World, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Death_and_funeral_of_Margaret_Thatcher&oldid=1018238917, Ceremonial funerals in the United Kingdom, Articles with dead external links from April 2021, Pages using infobox event with blank parameters, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, From the Palace of Westminster, a motor hearse travelled down Whitehall, across, At St Paul's, the coffin was carried into the Cathedral by members of the, This page was last edited on 17 April 2021, at 00:00. [116][117] as did Russian president Vladimir Putin, who said that Thatcher was "a pragmatic, tough and consistent person". Her body was subsequently cremated at Mortlake Crematorium. The verse became widely popular after the funeral, and was later revealed to be based on a poem written some 20 years earlier by David Harkins, an aspiring artist from Carlisle. [107] Technically, the queen was right to consider the divorced Diana no longer deserving (by her own choice) of a royal funeral. In June 2009, her daughter Carol spoke to the press of her mother's struggle with dementia. [53] UKIP leader Nigel Farage expressed his sympathy in a tweet, paying homage to "a great patriotic lady". [105], Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy hailed her as a 20th century landmark and said it was a sad day for Europe. [2] However, despite missing many other scheduled events—such as the 100th birthday celebrations of Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, on 12 December 2001;[3] the annual luncheon of the Women's Institutes, of which she was President, on 23 January 2002,[4] and traditional church services at Sandringham[5]—she was determined to attend the funeral of her younger daughter Princess Margaret. Granddaughter Amanda gave the first Bible reading; the second reading was given by David Cameron. 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wishes", "Margaret Thatcher: I Vow to Thee, My Country", "Margaret Thatcher 'feared divisive debate in parliament' over state funeral", "Thatcher to be given ceremonial funeral with military honours", "Margaret Thatcher funeral: Military honours for the longest-serving prime minister of the 20th century", "Cost of Thatcher's funeral a 'mistake' says Grantham Bishop", "John Prescott hits out at cost to taxpayer of Margaret Thatcher's funeral", "Lady Thatcher's funeral wishes will save taxpayer £800,000", "No 10: Baroness Thatcher's funeral cost taxpayer £3.6m", "Hundreds of police on stand-by as anarchists threaten to hold mass", "Thatcher funeral protesters get police go-ahead to turn backs on coffin", "Margaret Thatcher funeral: more than 4,000 police to be deployed", "Margaret Thatcher funeral: as it happened", "Thatcher funeral: Granddaughter Amanda captivates mourners in St Paul's with moving speech", "Hundreds of protesters turn backs on Margaret Thatcher's coffin", "Big Ben to be 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marks the death of Margaret Thatcher", "Why We Boycotted Margaret Thatcher Tribute in Parliament: Labour MPs", "Very sad to hear of the death of Margaret Thatcher, a great patriotic lady", "Margaret Thatcher: parliament recall sets John Bercow and No 10 at odds", "Jackson: Thatcher was 'a woman, but not on my terms, "Parliament Debates Thatcher Legacy, as Vitriol Flows Online and in Streets", "Up to 150 Labour MPs fail to attend Baroness Thatcher Commons debate", "Several MPs set to boycott Thatcher tributes", "Factbox: British reaction to the death of Margaret Thatcher", "North East reaction to death of Margaret Thatcher", "Little sympathy for Margaret Thatcher among former opponents", "Durham coalfield rejoices at Margaret Thatcher's death", "Margaret Thatcher's death greeted with little sympathy by Orgreave veterans", "As Thatcher Goes to Rest, Miners Feel No Less Bitter", "Margaret Thatcher and the pit strike in Yorkshire", "Goldthorpe hosts anti-Margaret Thatcher funeral", "Margaret Thatcher's death greeted with street parties in Brixton and Glasgow", "Leeds street party celebrates Thatcher death", "Video: Police move in as Brixton celebrates Thatcher's death", "No UK taboo: Unlike in America, some Britons happy to publicly celebrate former leader's death", "Scores gather in Glasgow for 'party' to mark Thatcher's death", "Glasgow City Council criticises George Square Thatcher 'party, "Thousands gather in Trafalgar Square to protest against Thatcher's legacy", "Anti Margaret Thatcher party in Trafalgar square – video", "Hundreds join anti-Thatcher 'party' in London", "Margaret Thatcher's detractors throw party planned decades ago", "How people rejoice in the death of Margaret Thatcher", "Margaret Thatcher funeral: Three men arrested on suspicion of anti-Thatcher graffiti", "Ken Loach Slams Margaret Thatcher, Says Funeral Should Be 'Privatized, "Wakefield Council will not fly flag at half mast to mark Baroness Thatcher's funeral", "Margaret Thatcher funeral: Most councils in Scotland refuse to lower flags in memory of former PM", "Thatcher's critics take to the streets as Labour councils refuse to lower flags", "Coventry City Council decides not to fly flag at half mast for Margaret Thatcher funeral", "Lord Sugar and business elite pay tribute to Thatcher", "Margaret Thatcher 'changed the economy of the world, "Hillsborough: Thatcher told 'drunk fans' caused disaster", "Minute's silence for Margaret Thatcher: Hillsborough group says tribute would be 'insult to fans'; former sports minister warns silence would backfire; Saracens and Exeter to mark death of former Prime Minister", "Argentina recalls Thatcher's Falklands legacy", "For Margaret Thatcher, few tears shed in South Africa", "Margaret Thatcher: no fond farewells from Africa", "Praising 'Iron Lady,' Ban says 'We will owe a great deal to her leadership, "Telegram on Death of Baroness Margaret Thatcher", "Statement from the President on the Passing of Baroness Margaret Thatcher", "Statement by the Prime Minister of Canada on the death of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher", "President Higgins: Thatcher's legacy will be debated for many years", "Margaret Thatcher's death: reaction from around the world", "Julia Gillard leads Australian tributes to Margaret Thatcher", "John Key Pays Tribute To Margaret Thatcher", "Netanyahu: Thatcher a true friend of Jewish People", "Traian Băsescu: "Margaret Thatcher a fost un model pentru mine, "Margaret Thatcher will remain forever in history as an inspirational leader of the Free World", "Argentina responds with a shrug to Thatcher funeral snub", "Argentine ambassador snubs Lady Thatcher's funeral", "Zuma and ANC tactful about Thatcher legacy", "A fitting reaction or a faux pas?