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From Princess Diana to Michael Jackson and John Lennon: the 10 biggest funerals in history

2022-09-20 18:18:14Lifestyle SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX

 

From Princess Diana to Michael Jackson and John Lennon: the 10 biggest funerals
Flowers for Princess Diana's funeral

The 10 grandest funerals recorded in history:

Princess Diana

From Princess Diana to Michael Jackson and John Lennon: the 10 biggest funerals

20 years ago, on September 6, 1997, a coffin made the rounds of London, on the back of a hearse.

Inside the coffin was the body of Diana, Princess of Wales, who had died in a car accident 7 days earlier.

The funeral followed strict royal protocol, but no one had anticipated the size of the crowds that would fill the streets of London in honor of the ill-fated princess.

It is estimated that over 1 million people turned out to watch the procession.

The event was televised around the globe to an estimated audience of over 2.5 billion people making it one of the most watched events in history.

Duke of Wellington

From Princess Diana to Michael Jackson and John Lennon: the 10 biggest funerals

Many trace this tradition of long funeral processions when a leader dies to the Victorian Era and the death of the Duke of Wellington in 1852.

The Duke had left in his will that after death, the body should be left "at the disposal of his Sovereign".

Thus, after his death, Queen Victoria declared that his funeral should be an unprecedented event befitting both the magnificence of the Duke's military career and the British Empire.

The funeral took a full 2 ​​months to prepare, during which time Wellington's body was embalmed and traveled through the streets and environs of London.

On the day of the funeral, 12 black horses pulled a large bronze carriage decorated with spears, helmet crests and cannons through the streets of London.

10,000 marchers followed and the attendees numbered more than 1.5 million people, many brought there by the new railway lines that now connected the major British cities.

Abraham Lincoln

From Princess Diana to Michael Jackson and John Lennon: the 10 biggest funerals

This tradition echoed across the Atlantic, where after President Abraham Lincoln's death in 1865, his body was transported by train from Washington to Illinois.

This 2-week journey became a de facto funeral tradition and it was reported that over 7 million people stopped by to pay their respects.

The train traveled through 180 cities and 7 countries for a total of 2,735 km.

Victor Hugo

From Princess Diana to Michael Jackson and John Lennon: the 10 biggest funerals

State leaders are not the only ones who have been honored with a mass funeral.

When French novelist Victor Hugo died in 1885, over 2 million people watched the funeral procession from the Arc de Triomphe to the Pantheon.

Many in history consider this moment to be the first mass funeral organized by the state for a famous person.

Although the author of Les Misérables and The Back of Notre-Dame had asked to be buried in a pauper's coffin, everything about his funeral was grand.

The Arc de Triomphe where the coffin was placed was covered with black cloth and surrounded by soldiers on horseback carrying torches. During the procession, the coffin was preceded by 11 flower carts.

The Chicago Tribune called it, "one of the most remarkable funerals in the history of the world", although the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche criticized it as "a tasteless orgy and an excessive self-admiration".

CN Annadurai

From Princess Diana to Michael Jackson and John Lennon: the 10 biggest funerals

However, the largest funeral crowd ever recorded was for a man little known outside his own country.

Before his death in 1969, CN Annadurai was the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, a province in southern India.

An actor, writer and proponent of Tamil culture – he fought against the imposition of Hindi as the official language of India. He died while still in office and it is estimated that more than 15 million people took to the streets to see his body.

Joseph Stalin

From Princess Diana to Michael Jackson and John Lennon: the 10 biggest funerals

On March 6, 1953, the coffin with Stalin's body was displayed in the Hall of Columns in the House of Trade Unions, staying there for 3 days.

On March 9, the body was delivered to Red Square before being interred in the Lenin Mausoleum (where it would remain until 1961).

Speeches were made by Khrushchev, Malenkov, Molotov and Beria, and along with the greetings, 21 shots were fired from inside the Kremlin.

Similar commemorations were held in other Eastern Bloc countries, including China, Mongolia and North Korea.

In public efforts to honor Stalin, large numbers of people were reportedly crushed and trampled to death. Khrushchev later gave an estimate that 109 people died in the mob, although the real death toll may have been in the thousands.

John Lennon

From Princess Diana to Michael Jackson and John Lennon: the 10 biggest funerals

When John Lennon was killed, one of the world's greatest voices died forever.

As news of his death spread, vigils were held in cities around the globe. In his hometown of Liverpool, an estimated 30,000 people attended a mass in his honour.

Likewise, in New York City, more than 50,000 people gathered in Central Park to pay their respects.

What made his death so memorable was the 10-minute long silent mass that was held to honor him on December 14, 1980. Fans around the world attended and radio stations stopped broadcasting to join in the tributes .

Michael Jackson

From Princess Diana to Michael Jackson and John Lennon: the 10 biggest funerals

12 days after the death of Michael Jackson, a public memorial service was held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. An estimated 1 million fans tried to get to the event, so city officials asked those without tickets to stay home.

Due to the sheer volume, roads were closed and 3,000 officers were on duty to maintain order. The funeral ended up costing the city a whopping $1.4 million.

Pope John Paul II

From Princess Diana to Michael Jackson and John Lennon: the 10 biggest funerals

For 27 years, Pope John Paul II was the leader of the Catholic Church. He was loved by people all over the world. His funeral was attended by world leaders, celebrities and religious leaders from 14 different faiths.

The funeral service cost $12 million and was attended by 4 kings, 5 queens and 70 presidents and prime ministers.

Elvis Presley

From Princess Diana to Michael Jackson and John Lennon: the 10 biggest funerals

Elvis was the king of rock and roll and his funeral reflected that. One could say that he had a service fit for a king and that is partly why it was such a memorable funeral service.

After the news broke, thousands of fans gathered at Graceland to pay their respects. To handle the volume of people, President Carter called in 300 troops from the National Guard to help maintain order.

Elvis' body was buried next to his mother, while thousands of mourners attended the procession.

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