 |
| Lady Thatcher had been living in this suite at the Ritz since Christmas as she recovered from an operation |
 |
| Baroness Thatcher in her final days |
Above is Baroness Thatcher's deathbed, inside the Ritz suite Britain's greatest post-war prime minister spent the final months of her life.
Surrounded by the people who cared for her, the Iron Lady died 'peacefully' here following a stroke at 11.28am on Monday, as she sat up and quietly read.
Lady Thatcher, who had suffered a series of mini-strokes over the past decade, recognised the symptoms as she fell ill in the luxurious room, 'but this was the one that killed her', a friend said today.
'She had been having a series of blips and this was just another one. She recognised the symptoms and that she was having a little stroke and this was the one the killed her. The doctor was called but it was very quick,' the friend told The Times.
It is still unclear what Lady Thatcher was reading when she died, but insiders say it could have been that morning's newspapers.
Lady Thatcher may have been paying for the room at a reduced rate or getting it for free from the Barclay brothers, who own the hotel and the Daily Telegraph.
Her body was removed from the hotel by private ambulance almost 13 hours later at 12.20am yesterday, and her funeral was scheduled for next Wednesday.
Her twins Mark and Carol were abroad at the time of her death but there were accusations today that they had been limiting visits to her mother.
'They decided to allow one visitor a week at The Ritz and more often than not they would cancel it,' one critic said.
'I feel sorry for her that I wasn't able to see her. I thought I would have been able to cheer her up. I feel cheated that I didn't get to say goodbye'.
Tory MP Conor Burns, who would pop in to see her every week, said: 'We would have a couple of what she called "proper ones" - stiff gins - or a bottle of wine.'
He also said she may not want to talk so he brought magazines or newspapers or they would recite Kipling and her favourite childhood poem, the Owl and the Pussycat.
He also discussed politics with her, and as he told her Nick Clegg wanted to abolish the House of Lords, she replied: 'Well, we should abolish the Liberal Democrats'.
In the late period of her life she had the occasional lunch at the Ritz, where staff always knew to serve chicken consomme and a main course of lemon sole.
Other diners would often give her a standing ovation as she entered the dining room. Please click here to continue reading on Daily Mail's site and here to read about how her haters celebrated her death with champaign popping street parties and are planning more for her funeral next Wednesday.
No comments:
Post a Comment