The day Big Ben stayed silent
TEN a.m. on a grey London morning, and Big Ben is silent as Baroness Thatcher departs for the last time from the Palace of Westminster – scene of her many political battles.
The hearse turned into Whitehall and drove past Downing Street, where Britain’s first woman Prime Minister occupied Number 10 for 11 tumultuous years
Her flag-draped coffin was taken from the Chapel of St Mary Undercroft, where it had been kept overnight. Members of the public watching the hearse as it slowly crossed Parliament Square were joined by Commons staff and several MPs.
On top of the coffin was a large bouquet of white roses with a handwritten note from Lady Thatcher’s children Sir Mark and Carol. It read: “Beloved Mother, always in our hearts”.
The hearse turned into Whitehall and drove past Downing Street, where Britain’s first woman Prime Minister occupied Number 10 for 11 tumultuous years.
Watching her final journey, Alex Jones, of Reading, Berks, summed up the mood by saying: “She was a wonderful woman. Britain should be proud of her. She did so much for us.”