Mikhail Gorbachev Funeral: Hundreds Pay Respects to Last Soviet Leader | BBC News

Sep 3, 2022 Hundreds of people have paid their respects at the funeral of the last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev in Moscow.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin cited a busy "work schedule" as a reason for him missing the event at the House of Unions on Saturday.

Liberal politician Grigory Yavlinsky said: "These people have come to Gorbachev to thank him, to say 'Thank you Mr Gorbachev, you gave us a chance.'"

The Funeral of The Duke of Edinburgh

The Funeral procession and service for His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle.

BBC live HERE »

Archbishop of Paris at Funeral of Slaughtered Priest

Nancy Reagan Funeral [Full Service]

Funeral Held for Dutch Prince Friso after Lengthy Coma

BBC: The funeral has been held for Dutch Prince Johan Friso, who died on Monday following a ski accident.

He remained in a coma for a year and a half after being hit by an avalanche at an Austrian ski resort in 2012.

The prince was buried in the small village of Lage Vuursche, near the castle where his mother, former Queen Beatrix, plans to retire.

Only residents and around 80 official guests attended, including Friso's godfather, Norway's King Harald V.

The royal family is planning a public memorial event later this year. Until then, a book of condolences has been opened online. (+ video) » | Friday, August 16, 2013

Obituary: HRH Prince Friso of Orange-Nassau »

Lee Rigby: Military Funeral for Killed Soldier

BBC: The prime minister and thousands of mourners have attended the military funeral of Fusilier Lee Rigby at Bury Parish Church in Greater Manchester.

The 25-year-old soldier, from Middleton, was killed in Woolwich, south-east London, in May.

His commanding officer Lt Col Jim Taylor said in a eulogy that he had been "a true regimental character".

After the service, his body was taken for a private burial at Middleton Cemetery along roads lined by mourners.

The soldier's family, who were greeted by applause as they arrived with his son wearing a T-shirt showing the words 'My Daddy My Hero', have thanked people "across the world" for their "overwhelming support".

Fusilier Rigby's wife Rebecca said: "There are so many kind and generous people out there.

"It's just horrible that it takes something such as this to make you see how many good people there are." (+ video) » | Friday, July 12, 2013

Obama's 'Snubbing' of Margaret Thatcher's Funeral Criticized
THE CHRISTIAN POST: President Barack Obama's decision not to attend or dispatch high-ranking members of his administration to the funeral of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher Wednesday was criticized in the United States as well as the United Kingdom.

Given that the White House sent an official delegation to the funeral of Venezuela's Hugo Chávez, a "tyrannical socialist dictator," Obama's treatment of the funeral of the "Iron Lady" was an "amazing snub," said the website of the Tea Party News Network. » | Anugrah Kumar , Christian Post Contributor | Thursday, April 18, 2013

Margaret Thatcher's Funeral Passes Peacefully

Amanda Thatcher’s Reading at Margaret Thatcher's Funeral Ceremony Causes Twitter Storm

Baroness Thatcher’s Funeral in Full
Dignitaries attended an official ceremonial funeral service with full military honors for the late British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
Watch the BBC coverage of the funeral via C-SPAN here | Wednesday, April 17, 2013

The Funeral of Baroness Thatcher
David Dimbleby introduces live coverage of the funeral service of Baroness Thatcher at St Paul's Cathedral. Sophie Raworth and Mishal Husain report from the route.
Watch the funeral on BBC iPlayer here | Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Margaret Thatcher Funeral: Live Coverage
Follow our live coverage as Baroness Thatcher is laid to rest today following a procession through central London and funeral service at St. Paul's Cathedral.

Latest | Joel Gunter and Matthew Holehouse | Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Margaret Thatcher Funeral: US Opts for Low-key Official Representation
THE GUARDIAN: Barack Obama sends presidential delegation with no serving politicians to London ceremony

The US is to send distinctly low-key official representation to Lady Thatcher's funeral on Wednesday, with a delegation led by George Shultz and James Baker, who both served as US secretary of state while Thatcher was in power.

While Barack Obama was invited, he has opted to send a presidential delegation comprising no serving politicians. Shultz was secretary of state to Ronald Reagan while Baker served the elder George Bush. Also representing Obama will be Barbara Stephenson, chargé d'affaires at the US embassy in London, and Louis Susman, the recently departed ambassador to Britain.

Separately, the Republican party is sending three members of the House of Representatives: Marsha Blackburn, who will lead the delegation, along with Michele Bachmann and George Holding. Blackburn is a leading fiscal conservative, while Bachmann, a member of the hard[-]line conservative Tea Party faction, became internationally known during her spectacular if brief bid for the 2012 presidential nomination. » | Peter Walker | Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Margaret Thatcher: Parliament's Chapel Service for a 'Beloved Mother'
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Michael Deacon reports on the chapel service held for the late Baroness Thatcher in the Palace of Westminster, the day before her funeral.


Footsteps on flagstones echoed through the vast hall, breaking the cold, draughty silence. Faint sunlight crept in from the outside world through the stained glass; otherwise, the hall was dim. Darkness spread from the high rafters down the dingy stone walls. Into this echoing gloom, the mourners slowly filed.

The day before her funeral, a chapel service was being held for Baroness Thatcher in the Palace of Westminster. Tucked away in a poky corner of Westminster Hall, up a short flight of steps, and guarded by wrought-iron gates, was a small door headed, “Chapel of St Mary Undercroft”. It was here that, this afternoon at three o’clock, Lady Thatcher’s coffin was brought.

As a television news helicopter thundered overhead, crowds gathered outside Parliament to watch the hearse draw up at Old Palace Yard. Solemnly the bearers hoisted the coffin on to their shoulders. The union flag in which it was draped fluttered in the breeze. Nestled in the wreath was a small white card. It read, simply, “Beloved Mother – always in our hearts.” » | Michael Deacon, Parliamentary Sketchwriter | Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Thatcher Funeral: Attendees and No-Shows
ABC NEWS: More than 2,000 invitations were sent out for the Wednesday funeral of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Among the former U.S. presidents, surviving U.K. prime ministers, world leaders and celebrities who made the cut are some high profile would-be guests who sent regrets: Former First Lady Nancy Reagan — whose husband had a close relationship with the late premier — will not be able to attend; nor will former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, who shared key moments in history with the Iron Lady. Germany's Angela Merkel is sending her foreign minister, while U.S. power families the Clintons and the Bushes won't be making appearances.

Here's a look at who is — and isn't — attending the funeral Wednesday at St. Paul's Cathedral. » | Associated Press | Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Angela Merkel 'The Iron Lady of Europe' Declines Invite to Our Own Iron Lady's Funeral
EXPRESS: GERMAN Chancellor Angela Merkel will not attend tomorrow's funeral for her fellow "Iron Lady", Baroness Thatcher, it was confirmed today.


Germany's government will instead be represented by foreign minister Guido Westerwelle.

Mrs Merkel has been described as the "Iron Lady of Europe" and "Iron Lady Lite" for her tough negotiating stance.

Embassy sources said she rarely attends such funerals overseas and that foreign minister Mr Westerwelle - who was in London last week for a G8 meeting - is the next most senior figure who would usually take up such an invitation to her government.

Former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl might have been a candidate to represent the state as he knew then PM Thatcher personally but he is too infirm to travel.

Downing Street yesterday insisted it was "not at all" concerned that relatively few heads of government from major countries have so far accepted the invitation to join mourners in London's St Paul's Cathedral. » | Alison Little | Monday, April 15, 2013

Francis Maude Appeals to Thatcher Protesters to Show 'Respect'
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: A senior Cabinet minister has appealed to people planning to protest at Baroness Thatcher’s funeral to allow the ceremony to take place in a “dignified” way.


Francis Maude, the Cabinet Office minister, has urged protesters to be “respectful” of the mourners attending Lady Thatcher’s funeral.

There are fears that protesters could attempt to disrupt Wednesday’s funeral ceremony in central London.

On Saturday night police were putting on a show of force in an attempt to discourage violent protests by groups who were gathering in Trafalgar Square to “re-enact” the Poll Tax riots of 1990.

Among those massing in the capital were anarchist and far-Left groups which have been planning for years to stage disruptions on the first Saturday following Lady Thatcher’s death. » | Peter Dominiczak, Political Correspondent | Sunday, April 14, 2013

Margaret Thatcher: I Vow to Thee, My Country
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

Boris Johnson: Police in London Are Prepared for a Riot over Baroness Thatcher
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The authorities in London are prepared for rioting as people “celebrate” the death of Margaret Thatcher, Boris Johnson has warned.

The authorities in London are prepared for rioting as people “celebrate” the death of Margaret Thatcher, Boris Johnson has warned.

Mr Johnson, the Mayor of London, said that that protesters who break the law during the street parties will be “properly dealt with”.

Anarchist groups have warned of more mass protests on Saturday, with 2,000 to 3,000 people expected to attend.

The events, at 25 locations across the country, are being organised by a group called Class War, with the help of other organisations such as the All London Anarchist Revolutionary Mob, which says it is “committed to radical action to undermine the state”.

One of the “parties” is being planned for Trafalgar Square in central London on Saturday, the scene of the poll tax riots in 1990. » | Peter Dominiczak, Political Correspondent | Friday, April 12, 2013

Protesters without Any Sense of Propriety, Civility, or Decency: Margaret Thatcher Funeral: Protesters Plan to Line Streets and 'Turn Their Backs' on Casket
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Protesters plan to line the streets by St Paul's Cathedral on Wednesday so they can "turn their backs" on Baroness Thatcher's casket, it has emerged.

Nearly 3,000 people have joined Facebook group "Maggie's Good Riddance Party", which claims it will hold a "right jolly knees up" outside St Paul's on the day of Baroness Thatcher's funeral.

The protesters wish to "get their money's worth" from the funeral, which will be paid for in part by the state.

Those attending include a civil servant at the Department of Work and Pensions, a carer and a branch leader of the National Union of Students. Some warned of "civil unrest".

Police have said anyone wanting to hold peaceful demonstrations in London on the day of the funeral will not be prevented from doing so, but urged organisers to contact the Metropolitan Police in advance.

The protesters plan to line the streets where Baroness Thatcher's funeral carriage will pass, particularly outside the cathedral, so they can turn their backs on the coffin as it goes by.

Any protest, and ensuing confrontation with the police, will be watched by millions of television viewers around the world. » | Amy Willis | Friday, April 12, 2013