LONDON – The political and personal life of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher was celebrated at a service at St. Paul’s Cathedral and attended by over 2,000 people.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper was part of a small Canadian contingent attending the funeral, and was joined by Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird and Gordon Campbell, Canada’s high commissioner to the United Kingdom.
Upon arriving in London late Tuesday, Harper reflected on Thatcher’s legacy to the conservative movement, calling it “profound.”
He said her lasting contributions include breaking a path for women in politics, saying many of the women in his own Conservative party were inspired by her work.
Also in attendance at today’s event was former Canadian prime minister Brian Mulroney, whose years in office overlapped with Thatcher’s often controversial tenure as the Iron Lady.
She died last week of a stroke at the age of 87.
Thatcher’s body rested overnight in the House of Parliament in London and borne on a horse-drawn gun carriage to St. Paul’s Cathedral prior to this morning’s ceremony.
The event included a reading by her granddaughter as well as from the current British Prime Minister David Cameron.
Thatcher reportedly picked the passage to be read by whomever was prime minister at the time of her death.
Her choice is from the Gospels, John 14.1 which says “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.”
Two poems which grace the program for the service were also selected prior to her death.
More than 4,000 police officers were on duty as part of a major security operation, part of the broader funeral plan code-named “Operation True Blue.”
It was criticized by some as being too partisan, a nod to the blue that is the traditional Tory colour and one often favoured by Thatcher in her formal suits.
Security was stepped up after Monday’s bombings at the Boston Marathon that killed three people and wounded over 170.
More than 700 soldiers, sailors and air force personnel lined the route, and Parliament’s Big Ben bell was silenced for the funeral of Thatcher, whose death certificate gives her profession as “stateswoman (retired).”
The preliminary cost of the event is approximately $15 million.
– with files from The Associated Press
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