LIVE VIDEO — Family, friends, fellow politicians and dignitaries attend the funeral service for former British PM Margaret Thatcher at St. Paul's Cathedral in London.By Ian Johnston, Staff Writer, NBC NewsLONDON -- Some slept in the streets to guarantee a good spot to watch her body pass by on a gun carriage, as others prepared to celebrate her death: Margaret Thatcher’s funeral was proving as devisive in the U.K. as her 11 years as prime minister.(http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Slideshows/_production/ss-130417-thatcher-funeral/ss-130417-thatcher-funeral-01.380;380;7;70;0.jpg)Peter Kollanyi / LNP via Zuma PressMourners take their place outside St Paul's Cathedral in London early Wednesday ahead of Margaret Thatcher's funeral.To her supporters, the “Iron Lady” was the greatest British premier of modern times -- rivaled only by World War II icon Winston Churchill. For them, Thatcher was a leader who transformed the country’s ailing economy, won a war against Argentina over the Falkland Islands and blazed a trail for women as the first female prime minister.
To her detractors, she was responsible for mass unemployment, the decimation of traditional industries like steel refining and coal mining and a culture that celebrated greed.
In London, some 2,300 guests were due to attend her funeral service at St. Paul’s Cathedral with representatives from 170 countries, Queen Elizabeth and other members of the U.K. royal family, current and past politicians, leaders from more than a dozen countries and more than 50 guests associated with the Falklands, including veterans of the conflict.
Thatcher formed a close relationship with President Ronald Reagan during her term of office from 1979 to 1990 and George Schultz, Secretary of State under Reagan, was expected to be among the guests, along with former Vice President Dick Cheney and former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.Margaret Thatcher, the longest-serving Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of the 20th century and the only woman ever to have held the post, passed away after suffering a stroke. She was 87. NBC's Martin Fletcher looks back at the life and times of the "Iron Lady."Thatcher will be buried with full military honors in a ceremony just short of a state funeral.
Her coffin, draped in a British flag, was loaded into a hearse at the Palace of Westminster, home of the U.K. parliament, shortly before 10 a.m. local time (5 a.m. ET) and made its way to the Church of St. Clement Danes on the Strand.
It will then be transferred to a gun carriage for a military procession to St. Paul’s Cathedral at about 10:30 a.m. local time (5:30 a.m. ET).
The procession will include members of the Royal Navy, Royal Marines, the Scots Guards, Welsh Guards, Royal Air Force and other armed forces personnel. The service at St. Paul's is due to start at 11 a.m. local time.
A hardcore of supporters slept overnight on the route, ITV News reported (http://www.itv.com/news/story/2013-04-17/margaret-thatcher-funeral/), and thousands were expected to gather to pay tribute.
Margaret Kittle, 79, told ITV News that she had traveled from Canada for the funeral and had waited outside St. Paul's since 8 a.m. local time Tuesday, more than 24 hours.Residents in the Falkland Islands remember Margaret Thatcher and prepare to honor her with their own memorial service. ITN's Martin Geissler reports. “It was a cold night, the damp goes through you but I always said I would come to the U.K. for Margaret Thatcher's funeral because I respect her,” she added. “I think she did a lot for the world. We will never see the likes of Mrs. Thatcher again.”
David Cameron, Britain's current prime minister and a Conservative like Thatcher, told BBC Radio that the ceremony would be “quite a somber event” (http://www.itv.com/news/story/2013-04-17/margaret-thatcher-funeral/) but added that it was “a fitting tribute to a great prime minister, respected around the world.”
“I think other countries in the world would think Britain had got it completely wrong if we didn't mark this in a proper way,” he said.
Cameron added that he hoped opponents of Thatcher would show “respect” even if they disagreed with her. More than 4,000 police were delpoyed on the streets of the U.K. capital, officials said.
However, in Glasgow, where Thatcher was widely disliked and there were celebratory scenes on news of her death, a rally was to be held to remember the “industries and communities who suffered” during her time as prime minister.Watch the 'Iron Lady' deliver some of her most memorable quotes, as the world remembers former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.And in Easington, County Durham, northern England, miners were also to gather to mark the end of mining in the town on the 20th anniversary of the closure of the local pit.
“It's the end of an era for the person who destroyed our coal mines,” Durham Miners Association general secretary David Hopper told ITV News (http://www.itv.com/news/story/2013-04-17/margaret-thatcher-funeral-national-reaction/). "We are recognising that the perpetrator of all this evil has gone and thankfully she will not be coming back."
Related:
Margaret Thatcher, 'Iron Lady' who led conservative resurgence in Britain, dies at 87 (http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/04/08/17653388-margaret-thatcher-iron-lady-who-led-conservative-resurgence-in-britain-dies-at-87?lite)
Debate over funeral for 'loved, hated' former PM Thatcher divides nation (http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/04/09/17673521-debate-over-funeral-for-loved-hated-former-pm-thatcher-divides-nation?lite)
Anti-Thatcher party in London draws hundreds (http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/04/13/17737464-anti-thatcher-party-in-london-draws-hundreds?lite)
This story was originally published on Wed Apr 17, 2013 4:09 AM EDT
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