WITH a mixture of solemnity and grandeur Margaret Thatcher made her final journey, bringing to a close a political era that divided the nation.

Crowds broke out into spontaneous applause as her coffin, wrapped in a Union flag and set on top of a gun carriage, made its way to St Paul's Cathedral for her funeral yesterday.

Later, there were three loud cheers outside the cathedral as her coffin was brought out after the service.

During the service, Richard Chartres, the Bishop of London, hailed Lady Thatcher's "perseverance and courage".

Stressing that the ceremony was not the place to pass judgment on her political record, he said: "The storm of conflicting opinions centres on the Mrs Thatcher who became a symbolic figure; even an 'ism'.

"Today, the remains of the real Margaret Hilda Thatcher are here at her funeral service. Lying here, she is one of us, subject to the common destiny of all human beings."

Thousands turned out on to the streets of London to pay their last respects to Britain's longest-serving premier in 150 years, who died last week aged 87.

Big Ben was silenced and Prime Minister's Questions was cancelled.

Across Whitehall, flags flew at half-mast, as they did at Holyrood, where the Union flag, the Saltire and the flag of Europe were lowered out of respect.

There were protests in London, where people turned their backs and held up placards, but they were a small minority among a large and diverse crowd, swelled by curious tourists and office workers.

Larger demonstrations took place outwith the UK capital.

In Glasgow, around 200 gathered for what organisers described as an event to remember the "industries and communities who suffered" under Lady Thatcher's government.

Tommy Sheridan, who famously helped lead the poll tax protests in Scotland, said: "Some have said it is distasteful to celebrate the death of an old woman, and I was brought up to respect people, but it's clear Mrs Thatcher did not respect us.

"She didn't respect the workers she sacked or the hunger strikers who died when she was in power. We're here to say: 'We don't respect you either'. We won't shed any crocodile tears over her death."

Meanwhile, hundreds of residents of former mining communities in Yorkshire turned out and burned an effigy of Lady Thatcher after carting it through the streets on a horse-drawn hearse.

With security heightened following the Boston bombings, the event at St Paul's, protected by 4000 police officers, passed off peacefully. No 10 suggested the cost to the taxpayer, estimated by some at £10 million, would be made known next week.

The funeral, with full military honours, had references to the Falklands War, arguably Lady Thatcher's most notable achievement.

As the coffin made its way up Ludgate Hill to the cathedral, a gun salute was fired at one-minute intervals from the Tower of London; the cannons were last fired in anger at Goose Green and the final assault on Port Stanley.

Those bearing the coffin were soldiers, sailors and airmen from units associated with the conflict of 30 years ago.

The Queen paid her own tribute by attending, the first time the monarch had done so at a funeral of a prime minister since the death of Sir Winston Churchill in 1965.

Her Majesty headed a guest-list of 2300 people, which included present and past prime ministers, foreign heads of state, dignitaries from 170 countries, opposition politicians, including Labour leader Ed Miliband and First Minister Alex Salmond.

Also present were numerous members of Lady Thatcher's previous Cabinets, including the colleagues who helped bring about her downfall – Geoffrey Howe, Nigel Lawson and Michael Heseltine.

The coffin was placed beneath the dome of St Paul's and topped with a floral tribute of white roses bearing the handwritten note "Beloved Mother – Always in our Hearts" from her children, Sir Mark and Carol Thatcher.

For Chancellor George Osborne, the occasion seemed to affect him deeply; at one point a tear could be seen on his cheek. He later tweeted it was a "moving, almost overwhelming day".

One of the more poignant moments during the service came when Amanda, the late PM's granddaughter, gave a reading with a suitably Thatcherite tone and reference to "having your loins girt about with truth and having on the breastplate of righteousness".

Earlier, David Cameron insisted the honour of a grand- scale public funeral was a "fitting tribute" to a national figure who had been the longest-serving prime minister of the 20th century. While accepting opinions remain divided over her legacy, the PM said she created a new consensus during her time in power, noting: "In a way, we are all Thatcherites now."

After the service, Mr Salmond stressed he had attended as First Minister to represent the people of Scotland.