Live: funeral held for Margaret Thatcher in London

Margaret Thatcher made her final journey on Wednesday to St Paul’s Cathedral for her funeral, where Queen Elizabeth II led mourners from 170 countries to bid farewell to one of Britain’s most influential and divisive prime ministers.

Parliament’s famous Big Ben bell was silenced as Thatcher’s coffin draped in the Union Jack was carried to a hearse and driven through the streets of London lined by 700 soldiers, sailors and airmen in full ceremonial uniform.

Some 4,000 police officers have been deployed for the event, amid heightened security following the bombings at the Boston Marathon and fears of disruption by opponents of a politician who still arouses strong passions even in death.

Tens of thousands of well-wishers applauded as the cortege passed by in tribute to the “Iron Lady” who transformed Britain and helped end the cold war during her 11 years in power.

The coffin, dressed with a bouquet of white flowers and a handwritten card reading “Beloved Mother – Always in Our Hearts”, was taken to a chapel on the Strand before being transferred on to a gun carriage drawn by six black horses for the second leg of the procession to St Paul’s.

A Royal Marines band led the way playing funeral marches by Chopin, Beethoven and Mendelssohn, while guns were fired every minute from the Tower of London.