More than 2,000 invited to Thatcher funeral

[April 11, 2013]  LONDON (AP) -- Invitations to Margaret Thatcher's funeral are going out to more than 2,000 celebrities, dignitaries, colleagues and friends of the late British leader -- from former U.S. presidents to composer Andrew Lloyd Webber.

The government says invitations are being printed Thursday and will be mailed out on Friday. Some invitees may not attend.

The list includes all surviving U.S. presidents, former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, as well as British politicians and representatives of 200 states and organizations.

Entertainment figures include novelist Frederick Forsyth, singer Shirley Bassey and TV host Jeremy Clarkson.

A representative of Nelson Mandela -- whom Thatcher once called a terrorist -- has also been invited.

Thatcher will be given a funeral with military honors at St. Paul's Cathedral on Wednesday.

[Associated Press]

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