High-profile figures among guests celebrating life of much-loved former mayor Baroness Shreela Flather

Friends, family and colleagues gathered last week to celebrate the life of a much-loved former Royal Borough mayor and champion for the British-Indian community.

On Friday, March 22, some 200 people including Maidenhead MP Theresa May and Sir Michael Palin gathered to celebrate the life of Baroness Shreela Flather who passed away last month at the age of 89.

Shreela was a councillor for 15 years and served as Mayor of the Royal Borough in 1986.

She was the first Asian woman Justice of the Peace, the first Asian woman councillor and mayor, and the first Asian woman to receive a peerage in the UK.

Prior to the celebration of her life at Easthampstead Park Hotel in Bracknell, a service was held at Easthampstead Park Crematorium.

It featured music, readings and tributes from attendees including Sir Michael Palin – a close friend – who read an extract from Gitanjali by Rabindranath Tagore, and poet and novelist Sir Ben Okri, who read an extract of his own poem Mental Flight: An Epic Poem.

Among those paying tribute was Frederick Curzon, 7th Earl Howe, who said: “As the first ever Asian female peer, Shreela soon made the most of her unique status in the House, enriching its debates with insights gained from her Indian heritage and experience. Shreela was the warmest and kindest of friends, and to be in her company was to guarantee a great deal of laughter.”

Accompanied by two of the King's Orderly Officers, Shreela’s coffin, carried in by family members, was led by a Scottish piper in homage to her love of the haunting sound of bagpipes, and her son Dr Paul Flather welcomed everyone to the crematorium service.

Reflecting her passions and life as a self-described Hindu atheist, the service saw Indian flute music played and the Panis Angelicus was also sung.

People travelled across the UK and the world, including from New York, Montreal, Barcelona, Delhi and Mumbai to be in Bracknell to celebrate Shreela.

Royal Borough mayor Cllr Neil Knowles, MP Theresa May, and the ambassador of Nepal to the UK, Gyan Chandra Acharya, were among the many to attend a party celebrating Shreela’s life following the service.

Tributes were paid to Shreela, also a former teacher, at the celebration by figures including Sir Trevor Phillips, General Sir Evelyn John Webb-Carter, Lord Karan Bilimoria and Baroness Usha Prashar, and a warm message was also shared from Vikram

Doraiswami, High Commissioner of India to the United Kingdom.

Mrs May said in her speech: “With a mischievous sense of humour and a twinkle in her eye, Shreela was a force of nature, one of a kind and we have lost a committed public servant and much respected member of our local Maidenhead community.”

Reflecting on the day, her son Paul said: “It was a wonderful send off for my mum, with some 200 family, friends, even former pupils, colleagues from politics and public life attending, including so many of the organisations and campaigns she supported.

“We were all dressed either in white, the traditional Indian colour for mourning, or colour for celebration.

“We had champagne, of course, and lots of jollity as Shreela would have wanted. She loved nothing better than a good party, and she hosted so many wonderful ones during her life, and that was the way she wanted to go out.

“The tributes were so amazing, none more so than one offered by HM King Charles III which was so totally personal.

“They covered all the aspects of her life – but never ignoring her provoking side and her often sharp tongue – prepared to express forthright views on matters she cared deeply about.

“I was especially moved by Sir Trevor Phillips who reminded us that in the 1980s and 1990s it was extremely rare to see an ethnic minority and non-white woman in public life.

“She really helped pioneer the pathways and serve as a role model, as well as actively encouraging and enabling others to follow in her steps.”