Czechs’ final tribute to man who led them to freedom

THOUSANDS of mourners were led through Prague’s cobbled streets by Vaclav Havel’s wife yesterday, following the playwright-president’s body on its last public journey, in a carriage drawn by six black horses, to the castle where it will lie in state until a funeral tomorrow.

Dagmar Havlova was joined by leading figures from the Czech state and society, as well as ordinary citizens who wished to pay tribute to the man who died on Sunday, 22 years after leading the “Velvet Revolution” that ended Communist rule over Czechoslovakia in December 1989.

Hundreds of soldiers lined the streets forming an honour guard while a military band played funeral dirges.

Among those expected at a funeral, which will conclude three days of national mourning, are US secretary of state Hillary Clinton and her husband, the former president, Bill Clinton.