Thatcher Funeral Invitation List Released
by Bangalore 7 Replies latest social current
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Bangalore
Downing Street has released an initial list of invitations to Baroness Thatcher's funeral next Wednesday.
All surviving US presidents and British prime ministers are on the guest list, as well as a representative of the Reagan family.
Ronald Reagan's widow Nancy is understood to be too frail to travel.
Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev will also not be attending due to health problems, his spokesman has said.
The guest list for the event was drawn up by Lady Thatcher's family with the assistance of the government and the Conservative Party.
Over 2,000 invitations will be sent out, with most set to be dispatched on Friday.
Full capacity
The Queen and Prince Philip are already confirmed for the ceremony, which will take place at St Paul's Cathedral, London.
It will be the first funeral of a British politician the Queen has attended since that of Sir Winston Churchill in 1965.
The cathedral has a capacity of 2,300 and is expected to be full on the day.
All surviving members of Lady Thatcher's cabinets will be invited, as will the current cabinet and Labour leader Ed Miliband.
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NOTABLE INVITEES
- The Queen
- All surviving ex-prime ministers
- All surviving US presidents
- All surviving members of Lady Thatcher's Cabinets
- Current cabinet
- Labour leader Ed Miliband
- Mr & Mrs Michael Portillo
- F.W. de Klerk
- Dame Shirley Bassey DBE
- Jeremy Clarkson
- Lord and Lady Lloyd Webber
- Lord and Lady Archer
Other invited guests from around the globe include former US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and a representative of Nelson Mandela.
Guests from the world of entertainment who have already confirmed their attendance include BBC Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson, Welsh singer Dame Shirley Bassey and Lord Lloyd Webber.
Author Frederick Forsyth, a longstanding supporter of the Conservative Party, has also been invited.
Ex-Labour prime ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown have confirmed their attendance, as has FW de Klerk, the last president of apartheid South Africa.
Downing Street has confirmed that Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner will not be invited.
Lord Kinnock, who was Labour leader for most of Lady Thatcher's time in Downing Street and was defeated by her at the 1987 election, will not be present because of a commitment to attend the funeral of a former local councillor in Wales.
More than 700 armed forces personnel will take part in the ceremony, which will be preceded by a procession from Westminster to St Paul's.
A gun salute will be fired from the Tower of London and the coffin will be carried into St Paul's by service personnel from regiments and ships closely associated with the Falklands campaign.
The Metropolitan Police said it was working to ensure the day passed off safely, amid concerns that some people may use it as an opportunity to protest.
Bangalore
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Band on the Run
American questions:
I know that most peace time prime ministers who died were not accorded such honors. My memory of her is that she was far worse than Ronald Reagan. I vividly recall the videos and photographs of anguished Brits during her years in office. Although my source is not Entertainment Tonight, I've read that of all the prime ministers who served during Elizabeth's reign she despised Thatcher the most. The article explained that the disdain was not based on any ideology but a reaction that England should never be so polarized as a nation.
If Labour were in power, would she receive a state funderal? Will the Conservative party pay the expense of her funeral rather than British taxpayers? I understand the Queen has a duty to attend......then she had a duty to attend every deceased prime minister. From this side of the pond, I can understand William Pitt or Winston Churchill completely. Whatever my personal views, history will most likely wonder why she was treated with the same pomp as a vicious war time prime minister.
Americans have reviled presidents who later were historical favorites. Time helps.
Should such a polarizing figure be given such a funeral?
Curious.
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Theocratic Sedition
Ronald Reagan's widow Nancy is understood to be too frail to travel.
Didn't know she was still alive. I could have sworn she croaked a year or two ago?
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Phizzy
I wonder if anti-Thatcher sentiment is bigger than admiration for her, the release and sudden rise in the Brit charts of "Ding Dong the Witch is dead" seems to indicate it is !!
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doofdaddy
World media is controlled by what, three people? All Conservative. Murdoch loved her as his personal fortune sky rocketed under her regime. It's pay back time.
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Bangalore
Didn't know she was still alive. I could have sworn she croaked a year or two ago?
That was Betty Ford,wife of President Gerald Ford. Nancy is still very much alive.
Bangalore
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NewYork44M
That is also a surprise to me. According to Wikipedia Nancy Reagan is 91