A fitting send-off for Thatcher

Her Majesty paid tribute to Baroness Thatcher by making her first appearance at a politician’s funeral for almost half a century. During her 61-year reign, she has worked with 12 prime ministers but was at the funeral of only one other – her first, Sir Winston Churchill, in 1965.

Accompanied by Prince Philip, she was driven from Windsor Castle to St Paul’s Cathedral where, as head of state, she led the 2,300-strong congregation in remembering Britain’s only woman prime minister.

Their relationship was once described as more businesslike than warm. But royal sources said the Queen grew fonder of the Iron Lady over time. This is also my view, based on my own observation during Lady Thatcher’s 11 years in power, seeing them both at Commonwealth Heads of Government meetings and elsewhere.

After the service, the Queen and Prince Philip paused on the steps of the cathedral to pass their condolences to the Baroness’s children, Carol and Sir Mark. It was a scene between monarch and the family of an ex-prime minister that nobody in Britain is likely to see again for a very long time.

If you are among those who like numbers, you may wish to know that 4,000 extra police were drafted in for the occasion. The cortege travelled two miles, 393 members of the Armed Forces lined the route, with a further 430 also taking part in the event. The funeral was attended by 30 former Thatcher cabinet ministers. There were also 11 serving prime ministers and 170 countries were represented.

For me, the star of the “show” was Baroness Thatcher’s granddaughter Amanda. Standing at the lectern, the 19-year-old held the congregation at St Paul’s spellbound with her flawless delivery in a strong Texan accent of Ephesians 6: 10-18. When congratulated, she coolly replied, “It’s sort of in the blood.”

Amanda was playing a central role at the express wish of her grandmother. The daughter of Sir Mark Thatcher and his first wife Diane Burgdorf, her middle name is also Margaret. She lives in Dallas. In her reading, she spoke of putting on “the armour of God” to wrestle “the rulers of the darkness of this world”.

Lady Thatcher doted on Amanda and her brother Michael, calling them her greatest delight. Michael, 24, was a college football star. Amanda is at the University of Richmond where her classmates voted her the student “most likely to change the world”. Her reading during the service sparked a flood of praise on Twitter. One tweet said, “She has got the Thatcher genes.”

Police said they did not need to make a single arrest during the ceremonial part of the funeral. Apart from a few half-hearted demonstrators who booed the Iron Lady’s passing, there were no disruptions. There were reports of items being thrown towards the cortege but police said these were flowers.

In Goldthorpe, South Yorkshire, however, an effigy of the former prime minister in a noose was paraded through the former mining village. It was led by Arthur Scargill’s former wife Anne, and there were some cheers as an alternative mock cremation was staged.

Mrs Scargill, 71, said, “We have waited a long time for this day…Thatcher decimated our communities, she starved our kids, there are no jobs.” Shame no one told her that her former husband should share some responsibility for this.

But never mind. Nothing was going to take anything away from what wasn’t a state funeral in name only. All the components of one were there: the Queen, a gun carriage, the Knights of the Garter, fine hymns, a God-fearing Bishop and the Lord Mayor of London in procession with the Mourning Sword, last removed from its case for Sir Winston Churchill.

But what’s in a name. No matter what you call it, Baroness Thatcher had the kind of send-off that, to my mind, only the British are capable of putting together with such solemnity, precision, pomp and ceremony. May the lady now rest in peace!