The State Funeral

JAN 01 2011 · 12:00

The state funeral at St Vitus Cathedral, 23 December 2011. Schwarzenberg eulogized; Cardinal Duka celebrated; Clinton, Albright, Sarkozy, Cameron, Major and Wałęsa came to Prague. Place: St Vitus Cathedral, Prague Castle Figures: Karel Schwarzenberg, foreign minister, eulogist · Cardinal Dominik Duka, celebrant · Bill Clinton, Madeleine Albright, Nicolas Sarkozy, David Cameron, John Major, Lech Wałęsa, Hillary Clinton, in attendance The cortège leaves Old Town Square in the late morning and crosses Charles Bridge on foot, the coffin carried by Castle Guard. It is the route every Bohemian king has taken to coronation since the bridge was finished, the same stones Parléř laid with the eggs-and-lime mortar of legend. The crowd lines the bridge four deep. Bells ring at Týn, at Saint Nicholas, at the Loreta, at Saint Vitus. The cathedral is full at noon. Cardinal Duka celebrates. Karel Schwarzenberg, Havel's closest political ally since 1989 and his chancellor for the first presidential term, delivers the eulogy. The Plzeňský Prazdroj brewery has sent a wooden cask of pilsner for the wake, a gesture the family had requested in advance.