Thousands Gather for Goody Funeral

Thousands of mourners and well-wishers turned out for Jade Goody's funeral today, lining the streets of south London as the the reality star, who died last month of cervical cancer at age 27, made her final journey in a vintage Rolls Royce, the Guardian and CNN report. Massive screens outside St John the Baptist church relayed the ceremony in real time, although the burial afterward was restricted to close friends and family.

Goody reportedly planned every detail of the ceremony herself, and she and her family hoped the highly public event would raise awareness about the disease that felled her. "Had Jade been found to have cervical cancer much earlier, she'd have had such a better chance,” said the funeral director. “That is the message they want to give to everybody."
(More Jade Goody stories.)