Nelson Mandela laid to rest at family home

Nelson Mandela has been buried shortly in Qunu, following a memorial service in his village for South Africa’s first black president

A 21-gun salute and full honour guard escorted the coffin of Nelson Mandela as his state funeral took place on Sunday in the rolling hills of his rural boyhood home, reports The Telegraph.

His body was lowered into the ground at just before 11 am, British time.

The memorial service was a profoundly African one, with only African leaders invited to speak. But other mourners included Oprah Winfrey; Richard Branson, who worked with Mandela as one of The Elders; Idris Elba – who played Mandela in the current biopic – and actor Forrest Whitaker.