Reagan Library . On June 7, Reagan's body was removed from the funeral home and driven in a 20-mile-per-hour (32 km/h)
motorcade, by hearse, to the
Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in
Simi Valley. Reagan's remains were presented in a Marsellus Masterpiece model purchased from a funeral home in
Alhambra. It was carried by a military
honor guard representing all branches of the
United States Armed Forces into the lobby of the library to
lie in repose. There, a brief family service was conducted by the
Reverend Dr. Michael H. Wenning, former pastor of
Bel Air Church, where Reagan worshipped. When the prayer service concluded, Nancy Reagan and her family approached the casket, where Nancy laid her head on it.
Departure to Washington On June 9, Reagan's casket was removed from the presidential library and driven in a motorcade to
NAS Point Mugu in
Oxnard, California; it was the same airfield Reagan flew into and out of during his presidency when visiting his
California ranch.
SAM 28000, one of the two
Boeing 747-200s, which usually serves the president as
Air Force One, arrived to transport the casket to Washington. Thousands of people gathered to witness the plane's departure. Just before she boarded the
VC-25A Presidential Aircraft, Nancy Reagan waved to the crowd with her military escort at her side. The plane lifted off at about 9:40 am
PST.
Events in Washington with President Reagan's casket on
Constitution Avenue, marching to the
Capitol , with Reagan's own riding boots reversed in the stirrups In Washington, D.C., members of
Congress, and much of the public, paid tribute to Reagan immediately after his death and throughout his funeral.
Funeral procession Events in the capital began when Reagan's casket arrived at
Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. It was removed from the plane, driven by hearse in a
procession through the
Maryland and
Virginia suburbs and the nation's capital, across the
Arlington Memorial Bridge, and onto
Constitution Avenue. Near the
Ellipse, and within sight of the
White House, the hearse halted and Reagan's body was transferred to a horse-drawn
caisson for the procession down
Constitution Avenue to
Capitol Hill. Nancy Reagan stepped out of her
limousine to witness the casket's transfer; she was met with a warm greeting, including applause. The caisson paused at
4th Street and
Constitution Avenue, where 21 F-15s from
Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in
North Carolina, flew over in
missing man formation.
Capitol Hill The caisson stopped when it arrived at Capitol Hill; military units removed the casket, and "
Hail to the Chief" was played amidst a
21-gun salute. They followed it inside to the
rotunda. The casket was placed under the rotunda, where it lay in state on
Abraham Lincoln's catafalque. the Reverend
Daniel Coughlin,
Chaplain of the House of Representatives, gave the invocation. Eulogies were then delivered by
Senate President pro tempore Ted Stevens,
House Speaker Dennis Hastert, and
Vice President Dick Cheney. given to members of the public at the public viewing for Ronald Reagan
Public viewing The general public stood in long lines waiting for a turn to pay their respects to the president. About 5,000 per hour passed the casket, after waiting up to seven hours. In all, 104,684 paid their respects when Reagan lay in state. After returning to Washington following the
G8 summit in
Sea Island, Georgia, President
George W. Bush and First Lady
Laura Bush visited the rotunda to pay their respects. Many world leaders did the same, including interim Iraqi president
Ghazi al-Yawer, former
Polish president
Lech Wałęsa, Gorbachev, and Thatcher, Reagan's good friend and associate. After it was placed in a hearse, the motorcade departed on the five-mile-trip (8 km) to the
Washington National Cathedral, where the state funeral service was to be held; crowds lined the route of the cortege as the hearse made its way. Other notable world leaders included: Canadian
governor general Adrienne Clarkson,
British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his wife
Cherie,
German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder,
Russian President
Vladimir Putin,
Japanese prime minister
Junichiro Koizumi, former
Japanese prime minister Yasuhiro Nakasone, former
French president Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, former
Polish president Lech Wałęsa, former Finnish president
Mauno Koivisto, Romanian president
Ion Iliescu, Latvian president
Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga, acting president of Lithuania
Artūras Paulauskas,
Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, King
Abdullah II of Jordan,
Governor-General of Australia Michael Jeffery,
Turkish prime minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan as well as interim presidents
Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan and
Ghazi al-Yawer of Iraq,
Czech president
Václav Klaus and his predecessor
Václav Havel, Cypriot president
Tassos Papadopoulos,
South African president
Thabo Mbeki and
Irish president Mary McAleese. World leaders who attended the summit, but decided not to extend their stay in the U.S. to attend the funeral, paid tribute at the summit, including Canadian prime minister
Paul Martin, French president
Jacques Chirac and Irish prime minister
Bertie Ahern, also president of the
European Union. McAleese's presence had special significance, as she paid tribute to Reagan's Irish roots, recalling his visit to Ireland in 1984. In addition,
Taiwan's
president of the Control Yuan Fredrick Chien and Representative
Chen Chien-jen attended the funeral. The funeral for Reagan was the largest in the United States since
that of John F. Kennedy in 1963. President Kennedy's daughter,
Caroline, and her husband,
Edwin Schlossberg, both attended.
Cathedral events The motorcade arrived at the Cathedral and Reagan's casket was removed. The bearers carrying it paused on the Cathedral steps, and an opening prayer was given by
Bishop John Bryson Chane, Dean of the Washington National Cathedral. The casket was then carried down the aisle; the Reagan family followed and Nancy Reagan was escorted to her seat by President Bush.
Rabbi Harold Kushner and
United States Supreme Court Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor (the first female Supreme Court justice, whom Reagan appointed), then each gave a reading, which preceded the
eulogies. O'Connor read the
City upon a Hill text, which was noted by Reagan in many speeches of his.—before Thatcher delivered the first eulogy. In view of her failing mental faculties following several small strokes, the message had been pre-recorded several months earlier and was broadcast throughout the Cathedral on
plasma television screens. During the speech, Thatcher said, "We have lost a great president, a great American and a great man, and I have lost a dear friend." and Irish tenor
Ronan Tynan sang songs such as "
Ave Maria" and "
Amazing Grace" at the request of Nancy Reagan. The family and close friends boarded the
VC 25-A Presidential Aircraft, and as she had done previously, Nancy Reagan waved farewell to the crowds just before boarding the plane. About five hours after the aircraft departed Andrews, it touched down at
Naval Base Ventura County,
Point Mugu, California. The public, including sailors from the
USS Ronald Reagan, was there to witness the plane's arrival. Reagan's body was driven in a large motorcade through the streets of southern California.
Burial service The service drew 700 invited guests, including former Reagan administration officials such as
George P. Shultz, and noted dignitaries;
Margaret Thatcher, who traveled on the plane from Washington, sat next to
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger The three surviving Reagan children,
Michael,
Patti, and
Ron, gave final eulogies at the interment ceremony. Eulogies finished, and the service over, the
Air Force Band of the Golden West played four "
ruffles and flourishes", and the
U.S. Army Chorus sang "
The Star-Spangled Banner". Bagpiper
Eric Rigler played "Amazing Grace" as the casket was moved to its
grave site and placed on a
plinth. Her children surrounded her, and attempted to console her. Nancy then walked away with her military escort, clutching the folded flag. The
military band began to play the Victorian hymn "My Faith Looks Up to Thee" as the Reagan children said their goodbyes. Funeral attendees had an opportunity to file past the
coffin. The casket was lowered into the vault and closed at 3:00 am
PDT the next day. The exterior of the horseshoe-shaped monument is inscribed with a quote Ronald Reagan delivered in 1991: When Nancy Reagan died in 2016, she was entombed next to her husband. ==Attending guests==