Margaret Thatcher funeral to be held April 17

PanARMENIAN.Net - Queen Elizabeth II will be among the mourners at the funeral of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher on April 17, officials announced, according to The Associated Press.

Buckingham Palace said the queen and her husband, Prince Philip, would attend the ceremony at St. Paul’s Cathedral, which is expected to draw dignitaries from around the world.

Undertakers removed the former prime minister’s body from London’s Ritz Hotel where she died Monday, April 8 at the age of 87, amid preparations for a ceremonial funeral with full military honors. A van carrying Thatcher’s casket left the hotel Tuesday for an undisclosed location.

Thatcher will not receive a state funeral, which requires a vote in Parliament, but the ceremony features the same level of pomp and honour afforded Princess Diana and the Queen Mother Elizabeth.

The last British leader to receive a state funeral was Winston Churchill in 1965.

Thatcher’s coffin will lie overnight at the Houses of Parliament before the funeral, and then travel on a horse-drawn gun carriage to the cathedral along a route lined by military personnel.

The televised funeral will be followed by a private cremation.