Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher is to be honored with a state funeral- the first since Winston Churchill's in 1965. Thatcher's doing fine, health-wise for her age, but given the size of the event and the logistics in planning, they figured they should start planning now. Sir Malcolm Ross is heading up the planning for the event, since he's handled every major royal funeral since 1997 (and is apparently famously known for keeping the Queen Mother's funeral plans in a briefcase for 17 years.) Plus, they're worried that given UK deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan there might not be enough troops to line the funeral route. (Though if Thatcher hangs out for a few more years, it shouldn't be an issue.)
This may not seem like a big deal to non-British (and non-nerdy people) but it is. Non-royal state funerals are extraordinarily rare in Britain- Winston Churchill was the only one in the 20th Century and there were only 4 in the 19th Century- but Thatcher's going to get all the bells and whistles.
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