British reality star Jade Goody was buried on Saturday in a tearjerker of a funeral that rivaled Princess Diana’s for its scale and media coverage. The 27-year-old died on March 22 after suffering from cervical cancer for less than a year. The occasion veered between moments of humor – flowers on the cortege read ‘minging’ and ‘East Angula’ (referring to Jade’s catchphrases and ignorance of British geography) -and heartbreaking poignancy, with a note from Jade’s sons that included the words, “We love you very much and speak about you every day, we know you are with us when we play on the beach, eat our dinner and even when we are coloring in pictures for you, we know we can talk to you and you’ll hear us.”
Her funeral procession started off in South London’s Bermondsey disctrict – where Jade originally hailed from – and continued for 19 miles to her home in Essex. Thousands of well-wishers lined the streets in London and screens outside St John the Baptist church relayed a montage of photos of Jade shown inside the funeral. Minute-by-minute coverage of the entire event was shown on Britain’s Sky News channel, demonstrating Jade’s incredible command of the media, even after her untimely death. [Photos: Getty Images]
