Margaret Thatcher: Funeral to be held next Wednesday

The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh will lead mourners at the service at St Paul's Cathedral.

Buckingham Palace confirmed it will be the first political funeral Britain's Monarch has attended personally since Winston Churchill's in 1965.

The former prime minister has been granted a ceremonial funeral with full military honours – the same status that was accorded the Queen Mother and Diana, Princess of Wales.

The streets will be cleared for a procession taking her body from the Houses of Parliament to St Paul's.

She will be cremated at a private service afterwards.

To set the date and begin planning for the funeral, a "co-ordination meeting" with the Thatcher family and Buckingham Palace was held this morning, chaired by the Cabinet Office.

Parliament is expected to be suspended for the funeral, meaning the first Prime Minister's Questions session since the Easter break could be cancelled.

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Details of the funeral emerged as news of Lady Thatcher's death continued to divide opinion. Macabre street parties took place in London and Glasgow, organised by those who opposed her political views, while mourners laid wreaths and flowers in tribute to the former prime minister.

Long-serving former South Staffordshire Conservative MP Sir Patrick Cormack said Lady Thatcher would go down in history as "one of Britain's greatest prime ministers".

He added: "She might have been a one-term prime minister if it had not been for the extraordinary events in the South Atlantic.

"She demonstrated such resolution and courage during the Falklands conflict and from that moment on there was no question of her failing to win a second term."

Wolverhampton South West MP Paul Uppal said Lady Thatcher was "inspiring" and an "icon".

But former Labour MP Lord Bilston said: "She spoke all these wonderful words at the outset of her Premiership but delivered the complete opposite.

"One person said to me after hearing of her death, 'Well, the miners still cannot go back to work now, can they?'

"That response illustrates the strong feeling of loathing that still prevails among many."

David Cameron led tributes from world leaders and politicians to honour Lady Thatcher.

But as tributes poured in for Britain's first and only woman prime minister, many on the Left condemned the social impact of her policies. Last night, hundreds of cheering people held parties to "celebrate" her death in Glasgow and Brixton, south London.

And a Sandwell Labour councillor caused a storm on Facebook after he wrote "ding dong the witch is dead".

Bristnall councillor Steven Frear wrote the post alongside a link to a story on the death of the former prime minister.

He later issued an apology for his words, which were described by council leader Darren Cooper as "insensitive".

Tomorrow, as Parliament is recalled from its Easter recess, the Government will put down a motion, which is expected to pay tribute to Lady Thatcher, according to the Speaker's Office.

Mr Cameron is expected to give a statement to the Commons, followed by Ed Miliband, the Labour leader.

There will then be time for backbench MPs to make their own tributes.

Mr Cameron yesterday cut short an official visit to Europe following Lady Thatcher's death, as Labour and the Tories suspended campaigning ahead of next month's key local elections.

The Lib Dems are also not expected to hold any events.

Loved, hated, never forgotten - 16-page special on the woman who changed Britain in today's Express & Star