LONDON – The funeral of former British premier Margaret Thatcher will be held on April 17, the UK government announced today, while undertakers removed the body of the ‘Iron Lady’ from the Ritz Hotel, where she died of a stroke at the age of 87. A private ambulance was seen taking away the coffin of Britain’s first and only woman Prime Minister from the luxury hotel in central London just after midnight on Tuesday.
Newspapers here highlighted how she died without her two children, Carol and Mark, by her bedside. She had been ill since Christmas, and died yesterday in the presence of her doctor and caretaker.
It had been reported in January that the former Prime Minister had decided to recuperate from a bladder surgery in a suite at the five-star landmark in Piccadilly, rather than endure the stairs of her Belgravia townhouse. Both Houses of Parliament have been recalled following the news of her death and will debate the legacy of the Conservative party leader who was in charge of the country between 1979 and 1990 – the longest serving British PM of the 20th century.
Preparations for her funeral are under way in accordance with the wishes of the “frugal” leader. It has been confirmed that Baroness Thatcher will be given a televised ceremonial funeral next week at St Paul’s Cathedral with full military honours.
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