London - The first female British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, was laid to rest on Wednesday at a service that took place at the St. Paul's Cathedral.
The funeral was attended by Queen Elizabeth II, Heads of State and Prime Ministers, among more than 2000 people in the cathedral. Former South African president FW de Klerk was among the guests.
It followed a procession, when the coffin, covered by a union flag, was taken by a gun carriage from the church of St. Clement Danes, the Central Church of the Royal Air Force.
Bearers were personnel from units and regiments involved in the Malvinas (Falklands) campaign, which was always recognised as one of the highlights in Thatcher's tenure.
About 4000 police forces lined along the route to ensure security. Flags on government buildings were lowered to half-mast, and the Big Ben on the Parliament tower was set to be silenced for the funeral.
Britain's current Prime Minister David Cameron said before the funeral that he "learnt a huge amount from watching" Thatcher at work, and today he felt "a great pride in all that she achieved, tinged with sadness".
Dubbed the "Iron Lady," Thatcher was more controversial than admired, as the longest-serving prime minister in Britain during the last century, being in office for 11 years. She died on April 8 from a stroke, at the age of 87.
Her body was then taken to the crypt chapel of St. Mary Undercroft. About 100 family members as well as colleagues and senior politicians had a private service. - SAnews.gov.za-Xinhua
