A full military rehearsal for Baroness Thatcher's funeral procession has taken place this morning after the Government defended plans for Wednesday's lavish ceremonial service.
The procession, timed to last 19 minutes, will involve more than 700 serving Armed Forces personnel and see Lady Thatcher's coffin carried on a horse-drawn gun carriage from St Clement Danes, the church of the Royal Air Force, down the Strand on Wednesday morning.
Led by the Band of the Royal Marines, the solemn procession will then slowly travel along Fleet Street towards St Paul's where around 2,000 mourners are expected to attend the service.
Lady Thatcher said she did not want a state funeral, but she has been given the next highest honour: a ceremonial funeral with full military honours tailored to her.
With all the the pageantry of a state funeral, it is set to be the largest in Britain since the Queen Mother's.
Downing Street has refused to give details about the cost until after the ceremony but it is expected to run into several million.
The rehearal came after a poll by ComRes found that only 25% of people think the event should be funded form the public purse and that 60% are against the idea.
But Tory Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude, who is one of the organisers of the service, insisted it had to be a "fitting event for a very great lady".
He told Sky News on Sunday that the ceremony would be a "fitting send-off" and argued that the involvement of the armed forces was "not over the top in any way".
Speaking on the Murnaghan show, he said: "Of course, with any funeral of any former prime minister the state inevitably plays a big role.
"Normally there would be a funeral followed by a memorial service. She was very adamant that she didn't want that, she wanted a single service. So this needs to be a fitting event for a very great lady."
Amid fears protests could mar the funeral next week, Mr Maude also urged critics of Lady Thatcher to be respectful.
"It is a free country. People must be free to express their views," he said, but added: "I would simply ask that they respect the wishes of the mourners for this event to take place in a dignified way."
George Galloway will attempt to block PMQs delay so MPs can attend funeral Meanwhile, Respect MP George Galloway will attempt to scupper plans to cancel Wednesday's Prime Minister's Questions so that MPs can attend the funeral.
He has said he will try to block a Government motion dropping Commons questions and delaying the start of business to 2.30pm, after the funeral has taken place.
Ministers had hoped the motion, tabled by the Leader of the House Andrew Lansley, would go through "on the nod" at the end of Commons business tonight.
Last night, police charged a series of demonstrators at London's Trafalgar Square who were protesting against Baroness Thatcher's legacy and who marked her death with a party.
Scotland Yard said nine suspects had been charged with various offences including assaulting police, affray and drunk and disorderly, and would appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on various dates in the next few weeks.
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