London Pauses to Mourn Margaret Thatcher
Britain's public and senior
political leaders, joined by foreign dignitaries, gathered here
Wednesday to pay final respects to Margaret Thatcher, modern Britain's
longest-serving prime minister, in a day marked by big crowds, grand
British ceremony and little of the disruption that had threatened the
divisive former leader's funeral.
Thousands of people lined the streets to watch Mrs. Thatcher's flag-draped coffin, set on a horse-drawn gun carriage, make its way to 300-year old St. Paul's Cathedral, where her funeral service was held. While the crowds were mostly respectful, there were hints of deep divides in opinion over her legacy for the country. A small number of people booed, chanted and brandished signs with anti-Thatcher slogans.
Mrs. Thatcher, who served as prime minister from 1979 to 1990, died on April 8 at age 87 following a stroke.
At the service, the Bishop of London Richard Chartres opened his sermon with a reference to the conflicting views she inspired. 'After the storm of a life lived in the heat of political controversy, there is a great calm,' he said. 'Lying here, she is one of us, subject to the common destiny of all human beings.'
He was addressing some 2,300 guests gathered for the service, including Queen Elizabeth II, Prime Minister David Cameron and senior leaders from around the world including prime ministers, foreign ministers, heads of state and other dignitaries from 170 countries.
The concentration of senior political figures, plus concerns about the potential of disruptive protests, led to a heavy security presence, with some 4,000 additional police officers, large crowd-control barriers and roads closed to traffic. Concerns were compounded by Monday's deadly blasts at the Boston Marathon, with London hosting its own race Sunday.
One man was arrested for entering a restricted area and being abusive, London's Metropolitan Police said Wednesday afternoon.
Earlier in the day, the coffin carrying Mrs. Thatcher's body made its way to the cathedral from the Houses of Parliament in Westminster first by hearse and then by the gun carriage, drawn by six horses from the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery. Members of the army, navy and air force lined the procession route. Soldiers fired guns stationed at Tower Bridge during the procession and a Royal Marines band played funeral marches by Beethoven, Chopin and Mendelssohn. Some 700 military personnel took part. The chimes of Big Ben were silenced during the funeral.
The funeral prompted debate in the U.K. about the cost to the public of such a big event.
Mrs. Thatcher's ceremony was one step short of a state funeral, which is usually reserved for the monarch but was provided for Winston Churchill, Britain's prime minister during World War II. Still, the proceedings contained much of the pomp that goes with such affairs.
Mrs. Thatcher requested that she not lie in state and that there be no military flyby. Her body was cremated in a private ceremony after the funeral service.
The government hasn't disclosed the cost of the event but has said it will do so.
The service prompted tears from some guests, including from Britain's Treasury chief George Osborne─a member of the Conservative Party that Mrs. Thatcher had long led─who later tweeted it had been 'a moving, almost overwhelming day.'
But the bishop also drew laughter when he recalled her direct manner. He recalled that once, as he sat next to Mrs. Thatcher at a function, she grabbed his wrist and 'said very emphatically, 'Don't touch the duck pâté, Bishop─it's very fattening.' '
CASSELL BRYAN-LOW
英
國民眾、高層政治領袖和外國政要週三聚集在倫敦﹐向現代英國任職最久的首相撒切爾(Margaret Thatcher)致以最後的敬意。當天﹐在這位備受爭議的前領導人的葬禮上﹐舉行了盛大的英式儀式﹐大批民眾前來送別﹐葬禮沒有受到什麼干擾。
Matt Cardy/Getty Images
圖片：送別“鐵娘子”
撒切爾在1979年至1990年擔任英國首相。她4月8日因中風去世﹐享年87歲。
在葬禮上﹐倫敦主教查特斯(Richard Chartres)在佈道開場提到撒切爾引發的爭議。他說﹐在火熱的政治爭議中度過了暴風驟雨般的一生後﹐終於迎來了極大的平靜。躺在這裡﹐她是我們中的一員﹐終要走向全人類的共同命運。
相關報導
高層政治人物的聚集﹐加上對可能發生干擾葬禮的抗議活動的擔憂﹐撒切爾的葬禮安保森嚴﹐加派了約4,000名警察﹐設置了大型人群控制路障﹐並實施了交通管制。週一波士頓馬拉松賽上發生的爆炸案令擔憂加劇。本週日﹐倫敦馬拉松賽將開賽。
倫敦警察局週三下午說﹐一名男子因進入限制區域且言語粗魯無禮而被拘捕。
Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
英國女王伊麗莎白二世和菲利普親王到達倫敦聖保羅大教堂參加撒切爾夫人的葬禮。
撒切爾的葬禮在英國引發了爭論﹐爭論的焦點是這樣一個大型活動給公眾帶來的成本。
撒切爾葬禮的規格與國葬只有一步之遙。國葬通常是為國王舉行的﹐但二戰時的英國首相丘吉爾(Winston Churchill)去世後也舉行了國葬。儘管如此﹐撒切爾的葬禮包含了國葬的大部分盛大環節。
撒切爾要求不土葬﹐不要有軍事人員的參與。葬禮後﹐她的遺體在一個私人儀式上火化。
Getty Images
週二，英國前首相撒切爾夫人的靈柩抵達國會大廈。撒切爾夫人的葬禮在周三舉行。
撒切爾的葬禮上﹐一些賓客落淚﹐包括英國財政大臣奧斯本(George Osborne)。他是撒切爾長期領導的保守黨(Conservative Party)的成員。奧斯本隨後在推特上發文說﹐那是令人傷感﹐幾乎悲傷欲絕的一天。
但主教查特斯回憶撒切爾的直率風格時也在賓客中引發了歡笑。他回憶說﹐在一次重大聚會上﹐他坐在撒切爾旁邊﹐她握住他的手腕﹐語重心長地說：“主教﹐別碰鴨肝醬﹐非常容易讓人發胖。”
CASSELL BRYAN-LOW
Focus on Personal as Britons Bid Thatcher Farewell
April 18, 2013
LONDON — Armed with a relentless political combativeness in life that earned her designation as the Iron Lady, Margaret Thatcher
achieved a dignified last act on Wednesday with a richly staged funeral
notable more for the crowds who cheered her coffin as it rolled through
London’s streets on a gun carriage than for the relatively small
clusters of protesters who shouted abuse as the cortege passed.
Since dying of a stroke last week at 87, Britain’s longest-serving prime minister in 150 years — and the only woman to hold the office — continued to stir intense passions. At issue were the elaborate ceremony and estimated $15 million cost of a funeral whose detailed planning she oversaw herself, as well as the socially disruptive consequences of her no-turning-back battles in the 1980s to shake Britain from its long postwar slump.
Security concerns, heightened by the bombing of the Boston Marathon
on Monday, prompted Scotland Yard to warn that the thousands of police
officers deployed along the two-mile route of the funeral procession
would arrest anybody judged to have caused “harassment, alarm or
distress,” even if the actions were nonviolent.
One leftist group, calling itself Good Riddance Maggie Thatcher, said it had sought prior approval for its supporters to turn their backs on the cortege, as they did when the gun carriage was nearing St. Paul’s Cathedral, Christopher Wren’s magnificent domed edifice in the heart of London’s financial district. Earlier, the coffin, not yet transferred from a hearse to the gun carriage, was driven slowly past 10 Downing Street, Mrs. Thatcher’s residence during her 11 years in power.
Along the route, the protesters’ rhythmic shouts of “Waste of money!” and “Rest in shame!” were overpowered in a countering wave of clapping, cheering and chanting of “Maggie! Maggie! Maggie!” by crowds standing at least 10 deep in the most congested parts of the route on the approaches to the cathedral. At the funeral’s conclusion, crowds pressed in behind police barriers before St. Paul’s and raised a cheer of “Hooray! Hooray! Hooray!” as the coffin was loaded into a hearse for its final journey to a family-only cremation in the upscale London district of Chelsea.
There were no disturbances, and barely any scuffles, to disrupt an event that had the rare distinction, for a deceased prime minister, of the attendance of Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, Prince Philip, among the 2,300 invited guests at the funeral. The queen, 87, and the duke, 91, had not attended the funerals of any of the 11 prime ministers who had served in her 61 years on the throne, save for that of Winston Churchill in 1965.
One of the few jarring notes at the ceremony came from supporters of Mrs. Thatcher, who noted that by joining with President Ronald Reagan to face down the Soviet Union, she had helped speed an end to the cold war and the collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe. They called President Obama’s decision not to send any senior members of his administration to attend the funeral a slight. The American delegation was led by former Vice President Dick Cheney and two other veterans of Republican administrations, George P. Shultz, 92, and James A. Baker III, 82.
Funeral organizers said that they had invited all the former American presidents, but that none had accepted. Officials said they had cited a range of reasons, from poor health in the case of the first President George Bush, to previous engagements, in the case of former President George W. Bush. Initially, organizers said there was a possibility that former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton would attend, but she, too, declined, as did Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.
The absences drew critical comment from across the spectrum of British politics. Gerald Howarth, chairman of a Thatcherite group of Conservatives in Parliament, told The Daily Mail: “The bond forged between the U.K. and the U.S. through Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher was instrumental in ending the cold war and liberating millions of people. That the present administration feels unable to be represented as the world marks the extraordinary contribution Margaret Thatcher made will be a disappointment to those who served with her in that endeavor.”
Many in Britain viewed the uncontested star among the Americans present as Amanda Thatcher, a 19-year-old granddaughter of Mrs. Thatcher, whose son Mark, 59, was previously married to Diane Burgdorf, a Dallas-born American who is Amanda’s mother.
Amanda, a college student in Richmond, Va., and her brother, Michael, 24, a chemistry graduate who works as a pharmacist in Dallas, were said by family members to have spoken frequently with Mrs. Thatcher on the telephone in recent years. Both are said by family friends to have been her greatest delight in her declining years, which were marked by an advancing dementia that friends said had caused her to forget the identities of Mr. Reagan and the present British prime minister, David Cameron.
The two grandchildren were given prominent roles at the funeral, walking before the coffin and its military pallbearers down the nave of St. Paul’s, bearing purple cushions with two medals, the Order of the Garter and the Order of Merit, which are among Britain’s highest civilian honors, awarded personally by the monarch. Amanda, impeccably dressed in a black coat, a pearl necklace and a broad-brimmed black hat, read the first lesson, from VI Ephesians 10:18, in a soft, composed voice; the second, and last, lesson was read by Mr. Cameron.
Throughout the service, the emphasis was on honoring Mrs. Thatcher personally, not her political accomplishments, something she was said to have demanded in planning sessions, telling officials that she knew she would remain a contentious figure in death. The bishop of London, Richard Chartres, presiding at the funeral, said that while Mrs. Thatcher had become “a symbolic figure — even an ‘ism’ ” in her 11 years in power, the funeral was “neither the time nor the place” for a political reckoning.
“This is a place for ordinary human compassion of the kind that is reconciling,” he said.
Since dying of a stroke last week at 87, Britain’s longest-serving prime minister in 150 years — and the only woman to hold the office — continued to stir intense passions. At issue were the elaborate ceremony and estimated $15 million cost of a funeral whose detailed planning she oversaw herself, as well as the socially disruptive consequences of her no-turning-back battles in the 1980s to shake Britain from its long postwar slump.
One leftist group, calling itself Good Riddance Maggie Thatcher, said it had sought prior approval for its supporters to turn their backs on the cortege, as they did when the gun carriage was nearing St. Paul’s Cathedral, Christopher Wren’s magnificent domed edifice in the heart of London’s financial district. Earlier, the coffin, not yet transferred from a hearse to the gun carriage, was driven slowly past 10 Downing Street, Mrs. Thatcher’s residence during her 11 years in power.
Along the route, the protesters’ rhythmic shouts of “Waste of money!” and “Rest in shame!” were overpowered in a countering wave of clapping, cheering and chanting of “Maggie! Maggie! Maggie!” by crowds standing at least 10 deep in the most congested parts of the route on the approaches to the cathedral. At the funeral’s conclusion, crowds pressed in behind police barriers before St. Paul’s and raised a cheer of “Hooray! Hooray! Hooray!” as the coffin was loaded into a hearse for its final journey to a family-only cremation in the upscale London district of Chelsea.
There were no disturbances, and barely any scuffles, to disrupt an event that had the rare distinction, for a deceased prime minister, of the attendance of Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, Prince Philip, among the 2,300 invited guests at the funeral. The queen, 87, and the duke, 91, had not attended the funerals of any of the 11 prime ministers who had served in her 61 years on the throne, save for that of Winston Churchill in 1965.
One of the few jarring notes at the ceremony came from supporters of Mrs. Thatcher, who noted that by joining with President Ronald Reagan to face down the Soviet Union, she had helped speed an end to the cold war and the collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe. They called President Obama’s decision not to send any senior members of his administration to attend the funeral a slight. The American delegation was led by former Vice President Dick Cheney and two other veterans of Republican administrations, George P. Shultz, 92, and James A. Baker III, 82.
Funeral organizers said that they had invited all the former American presidents, but that none had accepted. Officials said they had cited a range of reasons, from poor health in the case of the first President George Bush, to previous engagements, in the case of former President George W. Bush. Initially, organizers said there was a possibility that former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton would attend, but she, too, declined, as did Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.
The absences drew critical comment from across the spectrum of British politics. Gerald Howarth, chairman of a Thatcherite group of Conservatives in Parliament, told The Daily Mail: “The bond forged between the U.K. and the U.S. through Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher was instrumental in ending the cold war and liberating millions of people. That the present administration feels unable to be represented as the world marks the extraordinary contribution Margaret Thatcher made will be a disappointment to those who served with her in that endeavor.”
Many in Britain viewed the uncontested star among the Americans present as Amanda Thatcher, a 19-year-old granddaughter of Mrs. Thatcher, whose son Mark, 59, was previously married to Diane Burgdorf, a Dallas-born American who is Amanda’s mother.
Amanda, a college student in Richmond, Va., and her brother, Michael, 24, a chemistry graduate who works as a pharmacist in Dallas, were said by family members to have spoken frequently with Mrs. Thatcher on the telephone in recent years. Both are said by family friends to have been her greatest delight in her declining years, which were marked by an advancing dementia that friends said had caused her to forget the identities of Mr. Reagan and the present British prime minister, David Cameron.
The two grandchildren were given prominent roles at the funeral, walking before the coffin and its military pallbearers down the nave of St. Paul’s, bearing purple cushions with two medals, the Order of the Garter and the Order of Merit, which are among Britain’s highest civilian honors, awarded personally by the monarch. Amanda, impeccably dressed in a black coat, a pearl necklace and a broad-brimmed black hat, read the first lesson, from VI Ephesians 10:18, in a soft, composed voice; the second, and last, lesson was read by Mr. Cameron.
Throughout the service, the emphasis was on honoring Mrs. Thatcher personally, not her political accomplishments, something she was said to have demanded in planning sessions, telling officials that she knew she would remain a contentious figure in death. The bishop of London, Richard Chartres, presiding at the funeral, said that while Mrs. Thatcher had become “a symbolic figure — even an ‘ism’ ” in her 11 years in power, the funeral was “neither the time nor the place” for a political reckoning.
“This is a place for ordinary human compassion of the kind that is reconciling,” he said.
撒切爾的葬禮：爭議中走完最後一程
, 聯合報道 2013年04月18日
Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
周三，在英國女王伊麗莎白二世及其丈夫菲利普親王（右）離開前首相瑪格麗特·撒切爾的葬禮時，撒切爾夫人的兒子馬克和親王握手。
倫敦——瑪格麗特·撒切爾(Margaret
Thatcher)一生充滿不懈的政治戰鬥力，為她贏得了“鐵娘子”(Iron
Lady)的稱號，上周三，她以一場隆重的葬禮光榮謝幕。她的靈柩安放在炮架車上，駛過倫敦的街道，一面是支持她的民眾，另一面則是數量相對較少的示威
者，他們在送葬隊伍經過時高聲譴責她。前者的聲勢明顯蓋過後者。
撒切爾夫人是過去150年中任職時間最長的首相，也是擔任過首相的唯一女性。她在上周因中風逝世，享年87歲，卻繼續激發起人們強烈的感情。這場精 心籌劃的典禮，以及在她監督下悉心設計的、估計花費1500萬美元（約合9300萬元人民幣）的葬禮，還有她在20世紀80年代，為推動英國走出二戰後的 長期衰退而進行的破釜沉舟的戰鬥，為社會所帶來破壞性的後果，這一切都還處在爭議之中。
周一波士頓馬拉松賽(Boston Marathon)上發生的炸彈襲擊，令人們對安全產生了擔憂，於是蘇格蘭場（Scotland
Yard，即倫敦警察廳——譯註）發出警告，稱部署在兩英里長的送葬路線旁的警員，會逮捕任何他們認為引起“騷擾、驚慌或危險”的人，即便是非暴力行為。
一個自稱“終於擺脫了瑪吉·撒切爾”(Good Riddance Maggie Thatcher)的左翼團體稱，已尋求事先批准，允許該團體的支持者背對送葬隊伍，他們在炮架車駛近聖保羅大教堂(St. Paul's Cathedral)時的確這麼做了。聖保羅大教堂是克里斯托弗·雷恩(Christopher Wren)主持重建的一座宏偉的圓頂建築，位於倫敦金融城的中心地帶。之前，在靈柩尚未從靈車上挪到炮架車上前，曾緩慢地駛過唐寧街10號，這裡曾是撒切 爾夫人11年執政生涯中的住所。
示威者們在沿途有節奏地呼喊着口號，“浪費錢財！”和“與恥辱長眠！”但示威者的聲音，卻被與之相對的支持者的聲音壓倒，後者鼓掌、呼喊着“瑪吉！ 瑪吉！瑪吉！”在送葬路線靠近大教堂的地方，這些支持者們至少佔據了十個最擁擠的地點。在葬禮結束時，人群擠在聖保羅大教堂前警察搭起的護欄後面，並且開 始呼喊“好啊！好啊！好啊！”(Hooray! Hooray! Hooray!)當時靈柩正被裝入靈車，即將踏上最後一段旅程，送往高尚的倫敦切爾西區，舉行只有家庭成員出席的火化儀式。
對一名已故首相而言，有伊麗莎白二世女王(Queen Elizabeth II)及丈夫菲利普親王(Prince Philip)出席可謂殊榮。參加葬禮的一共有2300名特邀嘉賓，對這樣一場特殊的事件，沒有人來擾亂，甚至沒有多少混亂場面。伊麗莎白二世女王在位的 61年中，現年87歲的女王和91歲的親王還從來沒有參加過此前11位首相中任何一位的葬禮，只有1965年參加溫斯頓·丘吉爾(Winston Churchill)的葬禮是個例外。
典禮上出現了為數不多的幾個不和諧音，其中之一來自撒切爾夫人的支持者，他們指出，通過與羅納德·里根總統(Ronald Reagan)聯手對抗蘇聯，撒切爾夫人幫助加速了冷戰的結束和東歐共產主義的垮台。他們認為，奧巴馬總統決定不派遣他政府內的任何高級官員出席葬禮，是 一種輕蔑的表現。美國代表團由前副總統迪克·切尼(Dick Cheney)和共和黨的兩員老人帶領，他們是喬治·P·舒爾茨(George P. Shultz)和詹姆斯·A·貝克三世(James A. Baker III)。
葬禮組織者說，他們邀請了歷任美國前總統，但無人應邀。有關官員表示，他們羅列了一系列理由，第一位喬治·布殊(George Bush)總統稱健康狀況不佳，前總統喬治·W·布殊(George W. Bush)稱事先已有安排。最初，組織者表示，前國務卿希拉里·羅德姆·克林頓(Hillary Rodham Clinton)有可能會參加，但她最後也拒絕了，副總統小約瑟夫·R·拜登(Joseph R. Biden Jr.)也一樣。
他們的缺席在英國立場各異的政治人物中都引起了批評。國會中由保守黨成員組成的一個撒切爾主義組織的主席傑拉爾德·豪沃思(Gerald Howarth)告訴《每日郵報》(The Daily Mail)：“英美兩國間由羅納德·里根(Ronald Reagan)和瑪格麗特·撒切爾締結的這種紐帶，對於結束冷戰、解放千百萬人民起到了關鍵性作用。就在世界紀念瑪格麗特·撒切爾做出的傑出貢獻之時，美 國現任政府覺得自己無法到場，這對於那些曾和她一起為這項事業努力的人而言是一件憾事。”
很多英國人認為，在所有出席葬禮的美國人中，撒切爾夫人19歲的孫女阿曼達·撒切爾(Amanda Thatcher)是無可爭議的明星。阿曼達是撒切爾夫人59歲的兒子馬克(Mark)，與生於達拉斯的美國前妻戴安娜·伯格多夫(Diane Burgdorf)養育的。
阿曼達是弗吉尼亞州里士滿的一位大學生，她24歲的哥哥邁克爾(Michael)是達拉斯的一名藥劑師，其他家庭成員表示，近年來，他們兩經常會和 撒切爾夫人通電話。撒切爾家族的朋友說，他們是她垂暮之年最大的安慰。朋友們說，隨着老年痴呆症的持續惡化，晚年的撒切爾夫人已認不出里根和現任英國首相 戴維·卡梅倫(David Cameron)了。
在葬禮上，阿曼達和邁克爾被賦予了重要角色，在聖保羅大教堂的中庭，他們走在靈柩和護柩的軍人前面，手捧紫色軟墊，上面是嘉德勳章(Order of the Garter)和功績勳章(Order of Merit)，這屬於英國非軍職人員可獲得的最高榮譽，由女王親自授予。阿曼達身着黑色外套，戴着珍珠項鏈和寬邊的黑色帽子，形象無可挑剔，她讀了第一段 聖經，出自《以弗所書》(Ephesians)第六章10-18節，語氣輕柔、剋制。第二段，也是最後一段由卡梅倫朗讀。
整個儀式的重點是突出她的個人榮譽，而不是她的政治成就，據說這是在策劃葬禮時她自己提出的，她告訴有關官員，她知道自己死後仍將是一個充滿爭議的 人物。主持葬禮的倫敦主教理乍得·查特斯(Richard Chartres)說，在11年的執政生涯中，撒切爾夫人已經成為了“一位具有象徵意義的人物，甚至誕生了撒切爾主義”，葬禮不是“合適的時機或場所”來 對她進行政治上的評判。
他說，“在這裡，只應有人最普通的和解、同情之心。”
撒切爾夫人是過去150年中任職時間最長的首相，也是擔任過首相的唯一女性。她在上周因中風逝世，享年87歲，卻繼續激發起人們強烈的感情。這場精 心籌劃的典禮，以及在她監督下悉心設計的、估計花費1500萬美元（約合9300萬元人民幣）的葬禮，還有她在20世紀80年代，為推動英國走出二戰後的 長期衰退而進行的破釜沉舟的戰鬥，為社會所帶來破壞性的後果，這一切都還處在爭議之中。
一個自稱“終於擺脫了瑪吉·撒切爾”(Good Riddance Maggie Thatcher)的左翼團體稱，已尋求事先批准，允許該團體的支持者背對送葬隊伍，他們在炮架車駛近聖保羅大教堂(St. Paul's Cathedral)時的確這麼做了。聖保羅大教堂是克里斯托弗·雷恩(Christopher Wren)主持重建的一座宏偉的圓頂建築，位於倫敦金融城的中心地帶。之前，在靈柩尚未從靈車上挪到炮架車上前，曾緩慢地駛過唐寧街10號，這裡曾是撒切 爾夫人11年執政生涯中的住所。
示威者們在沿途有節奏地呼喊着口號，“浪費錢財！”和“與恥辱長眠！”但示威者的聲音，卻被與之相對的支持者的聲音壓倒，後者鼓掌、呼喊着“瑪吉！ 瑪吉！瑪吉！”在送葬路線靠近大教堂的地方，這些支持者們至少佔據了十個最擁擠的地點。在葬禮結束時，人群擠在聖保羅大教堂前警察搭起的護欄後面，並且開 始呼喊“好啊！好啊！好啊！”(Hooray! Hooray! Hooray!)當時靈柩正被裝入靈車，即將踏上最後一段旅程，送往高尚的倫敦切爾西區，舉行只有家庭成員出席的火化儀式。
對一名已故首相而言，有伊麗莎白二世女王(Queen Elizabeth II)及丈夫菲利普親王(Prince Philip)出席可謂殊榮。參加葬禮的一共有2300名特邀嘉賓，對這樣一場特殊的事件，沒有人來擾亂，甚至沒有多少混亂場面。伊麗莎白二世女王在位的 61年中，現年87歲的女王和91歲的親王還從來沒有參加過此前11位首相中任何一位的葬禮，只有1965年參加溫斯頓·丘吉爾(Winston Churchill)的葬禮是個例外。
典禮上出現了為數不多的幾個不和諧音，其中之一來自撒切爾夫人的支持者，他們指出，通過與羅納德·里根總統(Ronald Reagan)聯手對抗蘇聯，撒切爾夫人幫助加速了冷戰的結束和東歐共產主義的垮台。他們認為，奧巴馬總統決定不派遣他政府內的任何高級官員出席葬禮，是 一種輕蔑的表現。美國代表團由前副總統迪克·切尼(Dick Cheney)和共和黨的兩員老人帶領，他們是喬治·P·舒爾茨(George P. Shultz)和詹姆斯·A·貝克三世(James A. Baker III)。
葬禮組織者說，他們邀請了歷任美國前總統，但無人應邀。有關官員表示，他們羅列了一系列理由，第一位喬治·布殊(George Bush)總統稱健康狀況不佳，前總統喬治·W·布殊(George W. Bush)稱事先已有安排。最初，組織者表示，前國務卿希拉里·羅德姆·克林頓(Hillary Rodham Clinton)有可能會參加，但她最後也拒絕了，副總統小約瑟夫·R·拜登(Joseph R. Biden Jr.)也一樣。
他們的缺席在英國立場各異的政治人物中都引起了批評。國會中由保守黨成員組成的一個撒切爾主義組織的主席傑拉爾德·豪沃思(Gerald Howarth)告訴《每日郵報》(The Daily Mail)：“英美兩國間由羅納德·里根(Ronald Reagan)和瑪格麗特·撒切爾締結的這種紐帶，對於結束冷戰、解放千百萬人民起到了關鍵性作用。就在世界紀念瑪格麗特·撒切爾做出的傑出貢獻之時，美 國現任政府覺得自己無法到場，這對於那些曾和她一起為這項事業努力的人而言是一件憾事。”
很多英國人認為，在所有出席葬禮的美國人中，撒切爾夫人19歲的孫女阿曼達·撒切爾(Amanda Thatcher)是無可爭議的明星。阿曼達是撒切爾夫人59歲的兒子馬克(Mark)，與生於達拉斯的美國前妻戴安娜·伯格多夫(Diane Burgdorf)養育的。
阿曼達是弗吉尼亞州里士滿的一位大學生，她24歲的哥哥邁克爾(Michael)是達拉斯的一名藥劑師，其他家庭成員表示，近年來，他們兩經常會和 撒切爾夫人通電話。撒切爾家族的朋友說，他們是她垂暮之年最大的安慰。朋友們說，隨着老年痴呆症的持續惡化，晚年的撒切爾夫人已認不出里根和現任英國首相 戴維·卡梅倫(David Cameron)了。
在葬禮上，阿曼達和邁克爾被賦予了重要角色，在聖保羅大教堂的中庭，他們走在靈柩和護柩的軍人前面，手捧紫色軟墊，上面是嘉德勳章(Order of the Garter)和功績勳章(Order of Merit)，這屬於英國非軍職人員可獲得的最高榮譽，由女王親自授予。阿曼達身着黑色外套，戴着珍珠項鏈和寬邊的黑色帽子，形象無可挑剔，她讀了第一段 聖經，出自《以弗所書》(Ephesians)第六章10-18節，語氣輕柔、剋制。第二段，也是最後一段由卡梅倫朗讀。
整個儀式的重點是突出她的個人榮譽，而不是她的政治成就，據說這是在策劃葬禮時她自己提出的，她告訴有關官員，她知道自己死後仍將是一個充滿爭議的 人物。主持葬禮的倫敦主教理乍得·查特斯(Richard Chartres)說，在11年的執政生涯中，撒切爾夫人已經成為了“一位具有象徵意義的人物，甚至誕生了撒切爾主義”，葬禮不是“合適的時機或場所”來 對她進行政治上的評判。
他說，“在這裡，只應有人最普通的和解、同情之心。”
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