Former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher was told there would be no room for her to witness the unveiling of Britain’s memorial to the Falklands War — because the space in the crypt of London’s St Paul’s Cathedral would be taken up by 13 clergymen.
The ensuing dispute, which saw both then-British secretary of defence Michael Heseltine and one of Thatcher’s most senior officials make personal inspections of the space beneath the church, is revealed in the latest private papers from 1985 to be released tomorrow by the former prime minister’s archive.
Thatcher paid close attention to the planned memorial for the 255 British service personnel killed in the 1982 Falklands Islands conflict. It was her decision, against the advice of many around her, to send troops to retake the islands when Argentina invaded.
So, she was unhappy to learn that, although she was involved in the service in St Paul’s to inaugurate the memorial, she was not going to be one of the 25 people invited to see it unveiled in the cramped space underneath.
“Kindly ask the Secretary of State to see me immediately after Cabinet,” Thatcher scrawled at the top of the letter telling her she was to be excluded, underlining “immediately” twice.
Among other things in the letter that she underlined was an observation that Heseltine had apparently signed off on the plan and that there would be room for four royal aides.
While details of Heseltine’s dressing-down are not in the file, it had the desired effect. Within a week, he had visited St Paul’s and sent Thatcher a handwritten note of apology.
“I am satisfied that this matter was not well handled, and I apologize for my part in that,” he wrote.
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