Funeral service for Britain's former prime minister Margaret Thatcher has begun at St Paul's Cathedral in the capital London, attended by the Queen and dignitaries from around the world.
Baroness Thatcher's coffin was driven from the parliament to the church of St Clement Danes for prayers before the former leader's full funeral at St Paul's Cathedral on Wednesday.
World leaders and dignitaries from 170 countries are attending the funeral.
Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip are among the mourners, who include 11 prime ministers from around the world, former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger and former US vice-president Dick Cheney.
Dozens of people camped out overnight near the 17th-century cathedral hoping to catch a glimpse of Thatcher's flag-draped coffin and its military escort, and hundreds had arrived hours before the funeral was due to start.
"I came to commemorate the greatest hero of our modern age," Anthony Boutall, a 25-year-old clutching a blue rose, said. "She took a nation on its knees and breathed new life into it."
Flags on government buildings were lowered to half-staff across the country before the service, but not all Britons were joining in the mourning.
Hundreds of political opponents said they would stage a silent protest by turning their backs as the coffin goes by.
"Like anyone else she deserves a decent funeral, but not at the expense of the taxpayer," Patricia Welsh, a 69-year-old protester, said.
More than 700 soldiers, sailors and air force personnel will line the route and around 4,000 police officers will be on duty as part of a major security operation, stepped up after Monday's bombings at the Boston Marathon that killed three people and wounded more than 170.
Parliament's Big Ben bell will be silenced for the funeral service, which will include hymns and passages from the Bible read by Prime Minister David Cameron and the late prime minister's granddaughter, Amanda Thatcher.
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