An old Republican goes royal.

I read today in The Times that Tony Benn, that arch Republican is being given the royal treatment. His body with be allowed to lie overnight in Parliament, by kind permission of none other than the Queen. The church of St Mary Undercroft is in the Palace of Westminster and is known as a royal  peculiar. The funeral is on Thursday 27th March at St Margaret's Church. Only two other parliamentarians have been give this privilege, Sir Edward Heath and Baroness Thatcher. Mr Benn was also granted the honour of the - freedom of the Commons - for his long and illustrious 51 years of service to parliament. Some at the ceremony, no doubt will have a wry smile, as the rhetorician is laid to rest, after being so bellicose in his attitude to privilege and royalty over the years. Despite claims by his son Hilary Benn that "red blood ran through his veins". They say when young your politics are like your heart on the left, but as you get older the move to the right!