UK bids farewell to Margaret Thatcher

LONDON Thousands of Britons lined the streets of central London on a grey Wednesday morning to see the hearse pass by carrying former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's body to her funeral ceremony.

Britain's Iron Lady is being laid to rest with a level of pomp and protest reflecting her status as a commanding, but polarizing political figure -- an elaborate affair with full military honors culminating in a service at St. Paul's Cathedral in London attended by world leaders and dignitaries from 170 countries.

The first part of Wednesday's elaborate proceedings saw Thatchter's casket removed from a chapel inside the Houses of Parliament, where it spent Tuesday evening -- per her request -- and loaded onto the hearse for the ride to the St. Clement Danes chapel. It was just the first stop on Baroness Thatcher's final journey....