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Planning for the funeral of Winston Churchill began after the prime minister had a major stroke in 1953. The incident at a party at Downing Street was kept secret by the family. Queen Elizabeth II was among the few who were informed. It was the Queen who insisted that a funeral plan should be prepared should the time come. The venue for lying in state was set in 1957. Writing to the Duke of Norfolk, George Cholmondeley, 5th Marquess of Cholmondeley and the Lord Great Chamberlain, mentioned that Westminster Hall would be the place. The actual plan was initiated in 1958, as indicated in a letter from Anthony Montague Browne, Churchill’s private secretary, to Lady Churchill in the summer of 1958, which stated:
The Queen has intimated …
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