Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher
By Paul Ohia, with agency reports
The former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who died of stroke 10 days ago at the age of 87, was given a final farewell Wednesday with full military honours that saw her coffin applauded through the streets of London, as Queen Elizabeth II led mourners in paying their respects to Britain’s divisive and influential first female head of government.
Her body was later cremated in a private ceremony attended by her twin children Mark and Carol, 59, and other family members.
The Federal Government of Nigeria was represented at the event by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Olugbenga Ashiru.
Tens of thousands of well-wishers turned out to watch Thatcher’s coffin as it travelled to St Paul’s Cathedral, many breaking into spontaneous applause and throwing flowers, reported the AFP.
Some 700 soldiers, sailors and airmen in full ceremonial uniform lined the route from the Houses of Parliament where Thatcher’s body had laid overnight, as guns were fired every minute from the Tower of London.
In a sign of the bitterness her legacy still provokes, a minority among the crowd turned their backs as the funeral cortege went by, booing and chanting “Maggie, Maggie Maggie! Dead, dead, dead!”
Some 4,000 police officers were deployed, amid heightened security following the bombings at the Boston Marathon.
At the cathedral, the Queen led mourners from 170 countries in a rare tribute from the monarch, who has not attended a prime ministerial funeral since Winston Churchill died in 1965.
UK Prime Minister David Cameron, leader of Thatcher’s Conservative party, attended along with former premiers John Major, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown and politicians from across the political divide.
Senior global figures including Thatcher’s fellow Cold War warrior Henry Kissinger, the former US Secretary of State, and show business stars Joan Collins and Shirley Bassey joined the former prime minister’s family in paying their respects.
In his address, Bishop of London Richard Chartres said Thatcher, who transformed Britain and helped end the Cold War during her 11 years in power, was a polarising figure but insisted there was no place for politics at her funeral.
“After the storm of a life led in the heat of political controversy, there is a great calm,” he told the 2,300 assembled guests, all clad in black.
“The storm of conflicting opinions centres on the Mrs Thatcher who became a symbolic figure — even an -ism. Today the remains of the real Margaret Hilda Thatcher are here at her funeral service,” he said.
The coffin of the “Iron Lady” had arrived at St Paul’s following an hour-long procession from parliament, which she dominated for half a century in the Houses of Commons and Lords.
Draped in the Union Jack flag and dressed with flowers and a card reading “Beloved Mother — Always in Our Hearts”, the coffin was carried first in a hearse and then on a horse-drawn gun carriage.
Parliament’s famous Big Ben bell was silenced for the procession, while a Royal Marines band led the cortege laying funeral marches by Chopin, Beethoven and Mendelssohn.
The pavements along the route were packed by well-wishers, many of whom had risen at dawn to travel to London.
Servicemen from units that fought in the 1982 conflict against Argentina carried Thatcher’s coffin into St Paul’s while two brothers who served in the war walked behind.
Argentina was pointedly not represented among the mourners at the service, who included the prime ministers of Canada, Israel, Italy, Poland and Kuwait.
Argentina was pointedly not represented among the mourners at the service, who included the prime ministers of Canada, Israel, Italy, Poland and Kuwait.
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