THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Lady Thatcher planned her own funeral, right down to the hymns, writes Michael Deacon .
In death as in life, Margaret Thatcher remains firmly in charge. The woman whose premiership was marked by ramrod certainty and whipcrack decision-making had, it turns out, a characteristically needle-sharp idea about how her funeral must proceed. Today, the details of that idea emerge.
From the singing of I Vow to Thee, My Country to the choice of readings, every aspect of the occasion will reflect some part of Baroness Thatcher’s character: her love of Britain, her Christian faith, her belief in tradition.
One of her chief orders was that David Cameron give a reading. This is not, it seems, because he is David Cameron, or because he is the leader of Lady Thatcher’s party, but simply because he is Prime Minister: her instructions were that there should be a reading by whoever was the prime minister at the time of her death, regardless of political affiliation. It could have been Ed Miliband. (Mr Miliband, and indeed Mr Cameron, will no doubt be grateful that it isn’t.) » | Michael Deacon | Friday, April 12, 2013
