The State Funeral of Sir Winston Churchill

The lights of Piccadilly Circus were extinguished….the state bell of St. Paul’s Cathedral rang out…a silent crowd gathered at Hyde Park Gate.

The Right Honourable Sir Winston Churchill died January 24th, 1965, on the 70th anniversary of the death of his Father, Lord Randolph Churchill. An official announcement went across the world from 10 Downing Street at 8:55am in a message from the Prime Minister, Mr. Harold Wilson.

"It is with great regret that I have heard of the death of Sir Winston Churchill. He will be mourned all over the world by all who owe so much to him. He is now at peace after a life in which he created history and which will be remembered as long as history is read. Our thoughts and sympathy are with his family."

The Queen sent the following message to Lady Churchill,

"The news of Sir Winston Churchill’s death caused inexpressible grief to me and my husband. We send our deepest sympathy to you and your family.

The whole world is the poorer by the loss of his many-sided genius while the survival of this country and the sister nations of the Commonwealth in the face of the greatest danger that has ever threatened them will be a perpetual memorial to his leadership, his vision and his indomitable courage."

Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother and other members of the Royal Family sent personal messages to Lady Churchill.

Statements during the morning of January 30th, confirmed it was the wish of the Queen that Sir Winston’s body would lie-in-state at the Palace of Westminster for three days and that a State Funeral service attended by statesmen from all over the world would take place in St. Paul’s Cathedral, Saturday, January 30th. The burial, attended by the family would be on Saturday afternoon in Bladon, near Blenheim, the ancestral home of Sir Winston.