'Iron Lady' laid to rest

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Margaret Thatcher, Britain's Iron Lady, was laid to rest yesterday with a level of pomp and protest reflecting her status as a commanding, polarizing political figure.
Bishop of London Richard Chartres referred to the strong feelings the former prime minister still evokes 23 years after leaving office in his address to the 2,300 mourners at St. Paul's Cathedral.
"The storm of conflicting opinions centers on the Mrs. Thatcher who became a symbolic figure, even an -ism," he said. "Today the remains of the real Margaret Hilda Thatcher are here at her funeral service."
"There is an important place for debating policies and legacy ... but here and today is neither the time nor the place."
More than 700 soldiers, sailors and air force personnel lined the route to the cathedral and around 4,000 police officers were on duty.
Spectators lining the route broke into applause, and scattered boos, as the carriage passed by, escorted by young soldiers, sailors and airmen.
Inside the cathedral, Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip were among the invited mourners, who included political colleagues and rivals, dignitaries from around the world, 11 prime ministers and former US Secretaries of State Henry Kissinger and George Schultz.
The woman nicknamed the Iron Lady transformed Britain during her 11-year tenure from 1979 to 1990, privatizing state industries, deregulating the economy, and causing upheaval whose impact is still felt. She died on April 8 at age 87.
Thatcher was given a ceremonial funeral with military honors, not officially a state funeral, which requires a vote in Parliament, but proceedings that featured the same level of pomp and honor afforded Princess Diana in 1997 and the Queen Mother Elizabeth in 2002.