UNITED Kingdom (UK) stood deeply divided yesterday over the legacy of former prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, as it made preparations for the grand funeral next week of the woman known around the globe as the “Iron Lady”.
However, tributes from world leaders who hailed her role in bringing down communism kept flooding in as the British government announced that Thatcher would be laid to rest on April 17 in London’s St Paul’s Cathedral.
Queen Elizabeth II will lead the mourners at the ceremonial funeral, one step down from the state funeral given to legendary wartime leader, Winston Churchill, but the same honour afforded to the Queen Mother and to Princess Diana.
But “Maggie” remained as polarising in death as she did in life, with violence erupting at street parties celebrating the demise of a figure who critics say destroyed millions of lives with her free-market economic policies, agency reports indicated yesterday.
Thatcher, Britain’s first female prime minister and longest serving premier of the 20th century, died on Monday aged 87 after suffering a stroke. She had suffered dementia for more than a decade.
Foreign Secretary William Hague, a fellow Conservative, told a briefing Tuesday ahead of a meeting with G8 counterparts that Britain was grateful for the condolences from around the world.
“She was an inspiration to many people in other countries, not just this country, particularly people aspiring to their own freedom and democracy at a time they didn’t have it, such as behind the Iron Curtain,” Hague said.
Condolence books were set up at several British embassies around the world.
Pope Francis was among the latest to pay tribute to Thatcher, hailing her “promotion of freedom”. Similar tributes have come from U.S. President Barack Obama and dozens of current and former world leaders including her one-time Soviet adversary Mikhail Gorbachev.
Current British Prime Minister David Cameron’s office said the government had agreed during a meeting with Thatcher’s family and Buckingham Palace that her funeral would take place on Wednesday next week, followed by a private cremation.
“A wide and diverse range of people and groups with connections to Lady Thatcher will be invited,” it said.
The queen and her husband Prince Philip will attend, Buckingham Palace said. The monarch does not usually attend funerals or memorial services of non-royals.
Thatcher’s coffin will rest in the Houses of Parliament the night before the funeral and will be taken through the streets on a gun carriage to the cathedral with full military honours.
Several Conservative lawmakers have called for her to receive a full state funeral but her spokesman Lord Tim Bell said Thatcher had specifically asked not to, believing it was “not appropriate”.
A private ambulance accompanied by police motorcycle outriders removed Thatcher’s body early yesterday from the luxury Ritz hotel in central London where she spent the last days of her life, an AFP photographer said.
Lawmakers have been recalled to parliament this Wednesday to debate Thatcher’s legacy and will vote on a motion paying tribute to her.
But trouble erupted at several parties to celebrate her death, reminiscent of the sometimes violent protests by miners, trade unions and anti-tax protesters during her time in office in the 1980s.
However, tributes from world leaders who hailed her role in bringing down communism kept flooding in as the British government announced that Thatcher would be laid to rest on April 17 in London’s St Paul’s Cathedral.
Queen Elizabeth II will lead the mourners at the ceremonial funeral, one step down from the state funeral given to legendary wartime leader, Winston Churchill, but the same honour afforded to the Queen Mother and to Princess Diana.
But “Maggie” remained as polarising in death as she did in life, with violence erupting at street parties celebrating the demise of a figure who critics say destroyed millions of lives with her free-market economic policies, agency reports indicated yesterday.
Thatcher, Britain’s first female prime minister and longest serving premier of the 20th century, died on Monday aged 87 after suffering a stroke. She had suffered dementia for more than a decade.
Foreign Secretary William Hague, a fellow Conservative, told a briefing Tuesday ahead of a meeting with G8 counterparts that Britain was grateful for the condolences from around the world.
“She was an inspiration to many people in other countries, not just this country, particularly people aspiring to their own freedom and democracy at a time they didn’t have it, such as behind the Iron Curtain,” Hague said.
Condolence books were set up at several British embassies around the world.
Pope Francis was among the latest to pay tribute to Thatcher, hailing her “promotion of freedom”. Similar tributes have come from U.S. President Barack Obama and dozens of current and former world leaders including her one-time Soviet adversary Mikhail Gorbachev.
Current British Prime Minister David Cameron’s office said the government had agreed during a meeting with Thatcher’s family and Buckingham Palace that her funeral would take place on Wednesday next week, followed by a private cremation.
“A wide and diverse range of people and groups with connections to Lady Thatcher will be invited,” it said.
The queen and her husband Prince Philip will attend, Buckingham Palace said. The monarch does not usually attend funerals or memorial services of non-royals.
Thatcher’s coffin will rest in the Houses of Parliament the night before the funeral and will be taken through the streets on a gun carriage to the cathedral with full military honours.
Several Conservative lawmakers have called for her to receive a full state funeral but her spokesman Lord Tim Bell said Thatcher had specifically asked not to, believing it was “not appropriate”.
A private ambulance accompanied by police motorcycle outriders removed Thatcher’s body early yesterday from the luxury Ritz hotel in central London where she spent the last days of her life, an AFP photographer said.
Lawmakers have been recalled to parliament this Wednesday to debate Thatcher’s legacy and will vote on a motion paying tribute to her.
But trouble erupted at several parties to celebrate her death, reminiscent of the sometimes violent protests by miners, trade unions and anti-tax protesters during her time in office in the 1980s.
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