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Richard Chartres, the formidable bishop leading Lady Thatcher's funeral
The Guardian ^ | Peter Walker

Posted on 04/17/2013 4:01:23 AM PDT by beaversmom

As a choice to lead Lady Thatcher's funeral service the bishop of London – to use his full title, the Right Reverend and Right Honourable Richard Chartres, KCVO – appears on the face of it the safest, most establishment-friendly choice possible.

The 65-year-old, who has occupied the number three role in the church since 1995, is not only close to the Thatcher family but is also a confidant of the royals, a friend of Prince Charles who officiated at Prince William's confirmation and, later, his wedding to Kate Middleton. He is a trustee of Princess Diana's will and a privy councillor, the latter granting him the "right honourable" prefix.

But when the white-bearded, intellectually formidable cleric rises to give the address at St Paul's, his own diocesan cathedral, some will be anticipating his words with a little nervousness.

For all his insider credentials and generally conservative views, Chartres was at the centre of one of the more bitter church-government rows during Thatcher's prime ministership. In 1982, as Robert Runcie's junior chaplain, Chartres wrote the then archbishop of Canterbury's sermon for the post-Falklands thanksgiving service.

This enraged Thatcher by calling on the congregation to pray for the dead of both sides and criticising "those who stay at home, most violent in their attitudes and untouched in themselves". The words were all the more stinging delivered by Runcie, who was awarded the Military Cross as a tank commander in the second world war.

The controversy anticipated Chartres's own future career. While largely seen as a conservative he has veered into occasionally unexpected views and actions, a habit allies see as honest and freethinking but viewed by some critics as occasionally opportunistic. When St Paul's was fringed by a tented camp of Occupy protesters, Chartres joined a debate with activists about corporate culture...

(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events; United Kingdom
KEYWORDS: thatcher

1 posted on 04/17/2013 4:01:23 AM PDT by beaversmom
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To: beaversmom

2 posted on 04/17/2013 4:14:17 AM PDT by JoeProBono (A closed mouth gathers no feet - Mater tua caligas exercitus gerit ;-{)
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To: JoeProBono

3 posted on 04/17/2013 4:25:41 AM PDT by onyx (Please Support Free Republic - Donate Monthly! If you want on Sarah Palin's Ping List, Let Me know!)
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To: onyx

4 posted on 04/17/2013 4:31:09 AM PDT by JoeProBono (A closed mouth gathers no feet - Mater tua caligas exercitus gerit ;-{)
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To: beaversmom

Who represented the United States of America at Mrs. Thatcher’s memorial service? Obama certainly gave high honors to the very dead Venezuelan Dictator Chavez .


5 posted on 04/17/2013 4:42:03 AM PDT by Tugo (Never Submit!)
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To: JoeProBono

BDUs at such a formal and solemn occasion?


6 posted on 04/17/2013 5:44:52 AM PDT by Ax
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To: Ax

From what I read she didn’t want her funeral to be a formal occasion.


7 posted on 04/17/2013 5:49:31 AM PDT by Hillarys Gate Cult (Liberals make unrealistic demands on reality and reality doesn't oblige them.)
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To: Ax

That pic was just practice. They’re in regular dress uniforms now. Video here;

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/blog/2013/apr/17/lady-thatcher-funeral-live-blog


8 posted on 04/17/2013 5:52:30 AM PDT by Hillarys Gate Cult (Liberals make unrealistic demands on reality and reality doesn't oblige them.)
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To: Ax

9 posted on 04/17/2013 7:04:54 AM PDT by JoeProBono (A closed mouth gathers no feet - Mater tua caligas exercitus gerit ;-{)
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To: beaversmom

I was very pleased to hear the repeated references to Jesus being the Way, the Truth, and the Life. And from a Church of England bishop, no less!


10 posted on 04/17/2013 7:06:43 AM PDT by CatherineofAragon (Support Christian white males---the architects of the jewel known as Western Civilization)
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To: JoeProBono

Looks like these Lobsterbacks are heading for a Concord Bridge reenactment tomorrow.


11 posted on 04/17/2013 9:54:44 AM PDT by Ax
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To: Hillarys Gate Cult

That’s more like it! RIP great ally!


12 posted on 04/17/2013 9:57:33 AM PDT by Ax
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