Passions run high as London readies for Thatcher funeral

Former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher (AFP/Hugo Philpott)

>> Former British PM Margaret Thatcher dies

LONDON: London's historic St Paul's Cathedral will on Wednesday host 2,000 guests ranging from royalty to television celebrities for the funeral of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher which has polarised the nation.

Queen Elizabeth II will attend the ceremonial funeral, the first time that she has attended one of her prime ministers' funerals since that of Winston Churchill in 1965.

International guests including Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Polish leader Donald Tusk and Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti will also pay their respects to the "Iron Lady", who died from a stroke on April 8 aged 87.

A major security operation has been planned for the event, amid fears it could be disrupted by those opposed to Thatcher's policies, particularly far-left groups and Irish republicans.

Experts estimate the cost of the funeral at £10 million (US$15.3 million, 11.7 million euros) but Conservative minister Francis Maude later rubbished the figure as "fantasy".

The Anglican bishop of Grantham, Thatcher's home town, called the costs a "mistake" which were "asking for trouble".

A ComRes survey published on Sunday found that only 25 percent of Britons approved of spending public money on the funeral, highlighting the tensions still aroused by Thatcher, 23 years after she left office.

Police detained 16 people -- mostly for being drunk and disorderly -- during a party held on Saturday in the central London landmark Trafalgar Square to celebrate the death.

The event followed similar parties in Glasgow, Bristol and Liverpool and in the London neighbourhood of Brixton.

The 1939 Wizard of Oz song "Ding Dong the Witch is Dead", sung by Judy Garland, on Sunday reached number two in the British charts on the back of an anti-Thatcher Facebook campaign.

Hundreds of people joined Saturday's "celebration", and several said they would return to demonstrate at Wednesday's funeral.

Peaceful protests, anti-Thatcher chants and banners are also expected when the former premier's coffin is carried through the streets of London with full military honours.

Police said on Sunday they would allow protesters to turn their backs during the coffin's journey.

The funeral service, to be delivered by Bishop of London Richard Chartres, will begin at 11:00 am (1000 GMT) with grandchildren Michael and Amanda Thatcher leading the procession.

The St Paul's Cathedral Guild of Ringers will ring the church's bells, half-muffled, for around 30 minutes and the service will conclude with patriotic hymn "I Vow to Thee, My Country," according to an order of service issued by Downing Street.

Prime Minister David Cameron and Amanda Thatcher will deliver two readings, both traditional funeral readings from the King James Bible.

The eclectic guestlist encompasses the worlds of politics and entertainment with London mayor Boris Johnson, Kuwaiti Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Mubark Al-Sabah, celebrity chef Marco Pierre White and television presenter Jeremy Clarkson all invited.

There will be also be reminders of the brief but bloody Falklands War, which many supporters see as her finest hour.

Guns used in the 1982 war to reclaim the Atlantic islands following an Argentinian invasion will be fired into the skies over London as the coffin is led to St Paul's Cathedral, through streets lined by 700 soldiers, sailors and airmen.

Thatcher's cremated remains will be buried beside her husband, Denis Thatcher, at the Royal Hospital in Chelsea, southwest London.

The funeral is the latest in a long line of landmark national events to be held at the famous London church.

Christopher Wren's masterpiece has been the stage for royal weddings, state funerals, memorials and celebrations.

War hero Horatio Nelson and Battle of Waterloo victor the Duke of Wellington had state funerals at the cathedral, as did wartime prime minister Winston Churchill in 1965, the last of the few British subjects afforded a state funeral.

More recently, it hosted the 1981 wedding of Prince Charles and Diana and provided the backdrop for events celebrating the Queen's golden and diamond jubilees in 2002 and 2012.

Thatcher ruled Britain for 11 years, and is credited with helping to end the Cold War and liberalising Britain's economy.

But her critics accuse her of destroying Britain's manufacturing base, increasing inequality and of being callous towards communities most adversely affected by the shifting economic landscape.