Astate funeral is a publicfuneral ceremony, observing the strict rules ofprotocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements of military tradition. Generally, state funerals are held in order to involve the general public in anational day of mourning after the family of the deceased gives consent. A state funeral will often generate mass publicity from both national and global media outlets.
State funerals already existed inantiquity. In ancient Athens, for example, fallen soldiers were regularly buried in a public ceremony.[1] In the Roman Empire, a state funeral (funera publica) could be instructed by the senate for the city of Rome, whereas city councils could instruct a communal state funeral.[2]
State funerals in Canada are public events held to commemorate formergovernors general,prime ministers, other members of thecabinet who died in office, and, at the cabinet's discretion, other eminent Canadians. With ceremonial, military, and religious elements incorporated, state funerals are offered and executed by the governor general-in-council, who provides a dignified manner for the Canadian people to mourn a national public figure. Provincial and territorial governments may also perform state funerals for citizens in their particular jurisdictions. However, most state funerals are federal affairs.
As Canada shares the person ofits monarch with the otherCommonwealth realms, funerals for Canada's sovereigns, as well as for their consorts, typically take place in the monarch's oldest and most populous realm, theUnited Kingdom. In Canada, a commemoration service is conducted by the federal crown-in-council and sometimes by provincial crowns, as well..jpg)
In Finland, state funerals continue only forFinnish presidents. In exceptional cases, theFinnish Government may grant or finance a funeral for a very long-servingprime minister,speaker of the parliament, and persons of special national importance. This practice has been in force in Finland since 1989.[3]
On 17 November 2012,Bal Thackeray was accorded a state funeral in the city of Mumbai. On 10 October 2024, businessmanRatan Tata was given a state funeral inMumbai.[4] Former Prime Minister Dr.Manmohan Singh was given a State funeral on 28 December 2024.[5]
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InItaly state funerals are granted[6] by law to the Presidents of the constitutional entities, such as thePresidency, theParliament, theGovernment and theConstitutional Court, even after their terms have expired, and toMinisters who died during theirterm in office. State Funerals can also be granted, by decree of theCouncil of Ministers, to people who gave particular services to thecountry; tocitizens that brought honor to thenation; or tocitizens who died in the line of duty, or were victims of eitherterrorism, ororganized crime
The official protocol provides for[6]
Public mourning, eithernational orlocal, is declared following the dispositions of thePrime Minister's decrees. Theflags are flown athalf-mast outside of public buildings, while inside they display twoblack ribbons, with the exceptions provided for military flags, when required bymilitary protocol.[6]
If the departed held a public office, the body canlie in state in the building of the office's institution. In other cases it is followed the will of the family, the traditions of the office or the local customs.[6]
Outside of the cases provided for by the protocol, for example duringnatural events that deeply impact the community, solemn funerals can be arranged and the six people who carry the coffins are members of theCivil Protection.[6]
In theUnited Kingdom, state funerals are usually reserved formonarchs. The most recent was thestate funeral of Queen Elizabeth II on 19 September 2022.[7]
A state funeral may also be held to honour a highly distinguished figure following the approval of the monarch andParliament (of the expenditure of public funds).[8] The last non-royal state funeral in the United Kingdom was that of SirWinston Churchill on30 January 1965.[9]
Other funerals, including those of senior members of theBritish royal family and high-ranking public figures, may share many of the characteristics of a state funeral without being categorised as such; for these, the term "ceremonial funeral" is used. In the past fifty years, ceremonial funerals have been held forLouis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (1979);Diana, Princess of Wales (1997);Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother (2002);Margaret Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (2013);[8] andPrince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (2021). Ceremonial funerals have tended in general to follow the ritual patterns of a state funeral (if on a somewhat smaller scale).
Agun carriage has been used to transport thecoffin between locations sinceQueen Victoria's funeral (1901); it is also accompanied by a procession ofmilitary bands and detachments along with mourners and other officials. There may also be alying in state and other associated ceremonies.[10]| International | |
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