Majesty of service is perfect end to Margaret Thatcher's eventful life

And so the end was as majestic as we expected and as loving as at the close of her long and so eventful life, as Margaret Thatcher would surely have wanted.

life first of all grounded in the simple expressions of Methodism, ended in the glory and splendour of our greatest cathedral church. But it was her family who finally escorted her along with the simple message 'Beloved Mother – always in our hearts' set into a wreath of white lilies and roses.

And so this morning, St Paul's opened its doors to our first woman Prime Minister, to the panoply of state and the first funeral of its kind outside the royal family which our nation has seen since wartime leader Winston Churchill commanded a state departure nearly 50 years ago.

Now, more than 2300 guests and supporters came here to say farewell to the grocer's daughter from Grantham, The Right Honourable The Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven LG, OM, FRS.

And in an unprecedented gesture since Churchill's passing, the glittering global guest list from more than 170 nations was headed by her Majesty the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh.

A reminder that in her political heyday, Baroness Thatcher and the Queen were often referred to as the two 60-year-old women who were then running the country. An exceptional Royal of our time honouring an exceptional politician of the same era.

Today was indeed momentous as Big Ben fell silent and the sombre sound of a muffled bell at St Paul's echoed around the City in which the former Prime Minister had for so long played such a part.

Yet beneath the trappings of it all, there was another story. Baroness Thatcher was far better known for striding the world's stage and fearing no-one than she was as wife, mother and grandmother.

But it was as she took her leave of that world, that we saw the reality. An elderly mother and doting grandmother brought by gun carriage and in through the Great West door by servants of the State but led on her final journey by her young grandchildren Amanda and Michael, children of her son Sir Mark.

Heads in the cathedral turned as the family arrived, all in black and as well as Sir Mark, his second wife Sarah and sister Carol, and partner Marco Grasse, were also there in support. They were clearly moved as they looked into St Paul's.

Solemnly and carefully Amanda and Michael led the cortege with its full military honours. They carried cushions bearing the Insignia of the Order of the Garter and the Order of Merit which were placed on the Dome Altar.

Amanda read beautifully from Ephesians, her reading preceded by John Bunyan's celebrated hymn To Be a Pilgrim, and followed by the present UK Prime Minister with a reading from John 14!

As with all these great occasions involving national icons, the mix of mourners is fascinating. With the Falklands War such a part of the Thatcher years, the military representation reflected that, as did the distinctive figure of Sir Galahad survivor and now campaigner, Simon Weston.

And today,we saw unlikely mixes like the Duchess of York, flanked by Terry Wogan, followed by Lord Howe – ironically he who was instrumental in that other farewell to the former Prime Minister, her ousting from Downing Street.

But all such yesterdays are put aside when the moment of final parting arrives.

Family, friends, colleagues, a royal presence led by the Queen herself, what has been called a 'proper' funeral service, music and hymns chosen by Baroness Thatcher over many years, for her it was perfect.