All surviving prime ministers, US presidents and Jeremy Clarkson are just some of the names being invited to Margaret Thatcher’s funeral next week.
Sir John Major, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown are invited along with their wives, as are Jimmy Carter, George HW Bush, Bill Clinton, George Bush and Barack Obama, as well as a representative of the Reagan family after former first lady Nancy said she would not attend.
More than 2,000 invitations are being sent on Friday for next Wednesday’s service at St Paul’s Cathedral, which begins at 11am.
The guest list was drawn up by the Thatcher family, assisted by the government and the Conservative Party.
‘Those invited include family and friends of Lady Thatcher, those who worked with her over the years, including all surviving members of her cabinets, former chiefs of staff, Conservative associates, peers and MPs, members of the cabinet… members of the Order of the Garter, members of the Order of Merit, foreign associates and dignitaries and representatives from the wide range of groups she was associated with,’ Downing Street said.
In addition, more than 200 states, territories and international organisations have been asked to send an official representative, while current and former world leaders who had a ‘close connection’ to the former prime minister have also been invited.
FW de Clerk, the last Apartheid-era leader of South Africa has been invited alongside a representative of Nelson Mandela, as has former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton and Labour leader Ed Miliband.
Among the more eclectic names being invited are Top Gear host Mr Clarkson, singer Dame Shirley Bassey, composer Lord Webber and Jeffrey Archer.
It has already been confirmed that former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev will not attend, nor will former Labour leader Neil Kinnock.
Baroness Thatcher, the country’s first and as-yet only female prime minister, died earlier this week aged 87 after a stroke.
Prime minister David Cameron led tributes to his predecessor in the Commons earlier this week, saying she made Britain ‘great again’.
Next week’s funeral falls short of a state ceremony, with Baroness Thatcher instead being honoured with a ceremonial service with military honours.
News crews outside the Houses of Parliament in central London.
Scotland Yard is sifting through the potential threats to the funeral of Lady Thatcher as it tries to assess what is idle chatter and which groups or individuals have the ability to disrupt the high-profile national event.
Activist groups say that this Saturday might be the main focus of protests, rather than the funeral itself next Wednesday. Police are planning a large-scale security operation covering central London.
Intelligence ahead of the protests is being provided by the National Public Order Intelligence Unit, part of Scotland Yard's counter-terrorism command. The NPOIU runs a network of long-term police spies and informants, who are feeding back intelligence about the scale of protestexpected and the likelihood of disorder.
Also adding to the intelligence picture is police monitoring of social media, which officers say has improved since the riots of 2011.
Commander Christine Jones said: "Right up to and during the course of Wednesday's events we will monitor a range of information to make sure we have the most up-to-date intelligence picture.
"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.
"The right to protest is one that must be upheld, however, we will work to do that while balancing the rights of those who wish to pay their respects and those who wish to travel about London as usual."
The detail of that balance, between those wishing to praise the controversial former prime minister and those who wish to denounce her, will be a huge challenge for the police.
There is mounting evidence that Trafalgar Square will be the focus of protests at 6pm on Saturday. A cross-section of activist groups are saying they will descend on central London on Saturday afternoon. Delegations of protesters are known to be travelling from a number of other cities for the occasion.
Ever since the 1994 poll tax riots, the anarchist collective Class War has proposed a gathering on the square on the first Saturday after Thatcher's death.
Class War is no longer a serious entity, although its most high-profile proponent, Ian Bone, has been widely quoted in recent days and has called for an effigy of Thatcher to be hung from the fourth plinth in the square.
The anti-tax avoidance group UK Uncut is planning a demonstration over welfare cuts in the capital earlier in the day on Saturday. It is unconnected to Thatcher's death, although some activists say it will form a meeting point.
Separately, Stop G8, a network planning demonstrations against the summit of world leaders, meeting in Northern Ireland in June, is also organising ahead of Saturday.
The group is calling for protests on Saturday and Wednesday, arguing that use of public funds for the funeral is "an insult to all those who suffered from her policies and actions".
Jones said officers would be kept back to be ready to rush to flashpoints as police deploy a range of tactics. "Police officers will be deployed at strategic points along the route that the funeral cortege will travel, and road closures will be in place," she said. "There will be a range of security measures in line with the current threat level. A mobile team of officers, called reserves, will be deployed ready to respond if needed to events anywhere in London."
Britain's elite will attend the funeral, with the list of dignitaries headed up by the Queen and prime minister. A number of world leaders are also expected to attend what is officially termed a ceremonial funeral.
The police will mount a large operation as they take account of potential challenges ranging from dissident Irish republican terrorists to activists on the far left who may use the funeral to show their contempt for Thatcher.
MI5 will also assist with the assessment of the seriousness of any threat posed by dissident Irish and al-Qaida-inspired terrorism.
Thatcher came close to being murdered by the IRA in 1984 when a bomb tore through the Brighton hotel where she was staying. The anger of violent Republicans was in retaliation for the hardline stance she took in the 1981 hunger strikes.
Police were called to incidents in London, Bristol and Glasgow on Monday night after a series of "parties" were held to "celebrate" the death of Thatcher.
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