Margaret Thatcher, the first woman to become British prime minister, has died at 87 after a stroke, a spokeswoman said Monday, April 8. Known as the "Iron Lady," Thatcher, as Conservative Party leader, was prime minister from 1979 to 1990. Here she visits British Prime Minister David Cameron at 10 Downing Street in London in June 2010.
London (CNN) -- All former U.S. presidents, former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and a raft of global dignitaries are invited to the funeral next Wednesday of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Downing Street said Thursday.
The guest list also includes representatives of the Reagan family, Nelson Mandela's family and former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, alongside sitting British Prime Minister David Cameron.
Any members of Thatcher's Cabinet who are still alive and members of the current UK Cabinet, as well as opposition Labour leader Ed Miliband, will also be asked to attend, Cameron's office said.
Among those expected to come are F.W. de Klerk, the last apartheid-era president of South Africa, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and one of his predecessors, Brian Mulroney.
Buckingham Palace has already confirmed that Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, Prince Philip, will be present.
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Invite list for Thatcher's funeral
With full military honors, the funeral will rival those given to Diana, Princess of Wales and the Queen Mother.
More than 2,000 invitations -- color-coded to indicate where the guests are to sit -- are being sent out, Cameron's office said. They are due to be mailed Friday.
Details of the very formal dress code will be sent out with the invitations.
St. Paul's Cathedral holds 2,300 people and is expected to be full on the day, Cameron's office said.
Some friends of Thatcher have already said they will be absent.
Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev is not planning to attend for health reasons, Vladimir Polyakov at the Gorbachev Foundation in Moscow told CNN.
Nancy Reagan, the widow of former U.S. President Ronald Reagan, Thatcher's great political friend and ally, is also unable to attend, a spokeswoman said.
"Mrs. Reagan is heartbroken over Baroness Thatcher's death and would really like to be there in person to pay her respects. Unfortunately, she is no longer able to make that kind of a trip so will not be attending the funeral," she said.
Nancy Reagan has asked Fred Ryan, chairman of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and a longtime personal friend, to represent her at the service.
Downing Street confirmed that the Argentine ambassador to London had been invited, as have other envoys, in line with protocol. No other Argentine representatives have been invited, however, meaning President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner will not be there.
Fernandez has stepped up her rhetoric in recent months over the disputed Falkland Islands, known to Argentines as Las Malvinas.
Thatcher waged a short, sharp war with Argentina over the Falklands in 1982 after Argentine forces invaded. The islands, which raise their own taxes but rely on the United Kingdom for defense and foreign policy, have been under British rule since 1833.
Thatcher, who led the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990 and was prime minister for 11 years, died of a stroke Monday at age 87.
A towering figure in postwar British and global politics, she is remembered in the world for her Cold War-era friendships with Reagan and Gorbachev, as well as her role in shaping Britain's place in Europe and her leadership during the Falklands War.
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She was on the wrong side of history when it came to South Africa, however, having opposed economic sanctions against the apartheid regime and described Mandela's Africa National Congress as a terrorist organization.
Mandela and de Klerk jointly won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 for their efforts to end apartheid.
Security concerns
Back at home, Thatcher was a highly polarizing figure in British politics.
Police are stepping up security ahead of the funeral, amid concerns that protesters angered by Thatcher's actions in office may take to the streets.
Many Britons blame her for creating soaring unemployment, when she reduced or eliminated many government subsidies to businesses and took on unions. Her battle with striking coal miners won her few friends in mining communities in northern England and Wales.
But supporters believe the tough reforms she pushed through transformed the British economy and gave many working people new freedoms.
London's Metropolitan Police, the City of London Police, who cover the city's financial district, and the British Transport Police are working together "to ensure that events that day pass off safely," a statement said.
Police officers will be deployed along the route, with other mobile groups ready to be deployed to any outbreaks of trouble, the Met Police said.
The force has urged anyone planning protests to let police know ahead of time.
"There has been much speculation about what levels of protest may take place. I would ask anyone who wishes to demonstrate then, or in the coming days, to come and talk to us," Commander Christine Jones said.
"The right to protest is one that must be upheld. However, we will work to do that whilst balancing the rights of those who wish to pay their respects and those who wish to travel about London as usual."
Police will implement a range of security measures in line with the current threat level, Jones said.
London's Evening Standard newspaper reported Wednesday that anarchists are planning to stage a mass "party" Saturday in Trafalgar Square to celebrate Thatcher's death.
Ian Bone, founder of the Class War group, is quoted by the newspaper as saying thousands of anti-Thatcher protesters will gather from across the country for the event. They'll include miners and steel workers scarred by her battle with the unions, he said.
Trafalgar Square, in the heart of London, was the scene of violent rioting in 1990 against a hugely unpopular tax brought in by Thatcher. The so-called poll tax was levied on community residents rather than property.
A post on what appears to be Bone's blog also calls on people to attend the "Class War Party" in Trafalgar Square. "Best night out since the poll tax riot," it promises.
READ MORE: Thatcher's legacy in focus as UK plans funeral
READ MORE: UK lawmakers pay tribute to former PM Margaret Thatcher
READ MORE: Why Margaret Thatcher was both icon and outcast
CNN's Laura Perez Maestro, Richard Allen Greene, Stella Chan and Arkady Irshenko contribute to this report.
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Thatcher with her parents and sister Muriel in 1945. Thatcher, born Margaret Hilda Roberts in 1925, studied chemistry at Oxford University and worked as a research chemist before becoming a barrister in 1954.
Conservative Party candidate Margaret Roberts, the youngest candidate for any party in the 1950 general election, works in a laboratory where she was a research chemist.
The Conservative Party candidate for Dartford in Kent, England, meets some potential constituents in January 1950.
Thatcher chats with a police officer outside the House of Commons, where she took a seat as a member of Parliament for Finchley in October 1959.
Thatcher addresses a Conservative Party conference in October 1967.
Thatcher in 1970. Within five years, she would become leader of the Conservatives.
Prime Minister Edward Heath with 13 of 15 newly elected Conservative women members of Parliament outside the House of Commons in June 1970. Thatcher became secretary of state for education and science under Heath.
Thatcher plays the piano for her husband, Denis, and their twins, Mark and Carol, then 17, in September 1970.
Thatcher takes over from Edward Heath as leader of the Conservative Party in 1975.
Thatcher addresses Conservatives at the start of the 1979 election campaign. William Whitelaw, at her right, later became home secretary and deputy prime minister under Thatcher.
Thatcher, becoming the first female prime minister of a European country, stands with her husband, Denis, outside 10 Downing Street in May 1979 after her party's success in the general election.
Thatcher with her new Cabinet in June 1979.
Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping and Thatcher at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing in September 1982. They were holding meetings leading up to the signing of the Sino-British Joint Declaration on the future of Hong Kong in 1984.
Thatcher meets personnel aboard the HMS Antrim during her trip to the Falkand Islands in January 1983. The United Kingdom fought a short war with Argentina over the Falklands in 1982, responding with force when Buenos Aires laid claim to the islands.
Thatcher and her husband, Denis, left, visit a school in the Falkland Islands in 1983.
Thatcher secures her second term of office in June 1983. She won a landslide re-election on the heels of the Falklands victory, with her Conservative Party taking a majority of seats in Parliament with 42% of the vote.
Thatcher and President Ronald Reagan share a joke in London in June 1984. The British politician enjoyed a close working relationship with Reagan, with whom she shared similar conservative views.
Thatcher addresses a Conservative Party conference in Brighton, England, following an IRA bombing of the Grand Hotel, where many delegates were staying, in October 1984.
Thatcher addresses the Conservative Party in May 1985.
Thatcher receives Spain's King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia at 10 Downing Street in April 1986.
Thatcher and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev at the start of talks at the Kremlin in Moscow in March 1987.
Thatcher and her husband, Denis, wave to the crowd at a London polling station in June 1987. She was re-elected to another term as prime minister that year with a slightly reduced majority.
Thatcher dances with Reagan in November 1988 following a state dinner given in her honor at the White House.
Thatcher greets Nelson Mandela on the steps of 10 Downing Street in July 1990. The anti-apartheid activist and future South African president had been freed that year after more than 25 years as political prisoner.
Thatcher, flanked by her husband Denis, addresses the press for the last time at 10 Downing Street before her resignation as prime minister in November 1990 after an internal leadership struggle among Conservatives.
The former prime minister chats with President George H.W. Bush in March 1991 in the White House Oval Office before receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The award is the highest civilian honor bestowed in the United States.
Thatcher, with her son, Mark, and her daughter, Carol, watches the coffin of her husband, Denis, during his funeral in July 2003 in London. Denis Thatcher died at age 88.
Thatcher touches the flag-draped coffin of Reagan as he lies in state in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda in June 2004. In a prerecorded video at his funeral, she called Reagan "a great president, a great American and a great man." "And I have lost a dear friend," she said.
Thatcher, from left, Cherie Blair, Queen Elizabeth II and Prime Minister Tony Blair attend a church service at Pangbourne College in June 2007 to mark the 25th anniversary of victory in the Falklands War.
An usher helps Thatcher, now a baroness, to her seat during the state opening of Parliament in November 2009.
The ex-prime minister helps unveil a portrait of herself at the opening of the Margaret Thatcher Infirmary at the Royal Hospital Chelsea in London in March 2009.
Pope Benedict XVI greets Thatcher in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican in May 2009.
Thatcher attends the House of Lords during the state opening of Parliament in May 2010.
Thatcher waves from the door of her London home after a hospital stay to operate on a broken arm in June 2009. She had a pin placed in her shoulder after suffering a fall.
Thatcher waves to journalists from her London home after another hospital visit -- this time with a bout of flu -- in November 2010.
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