'Tough and tearful' week ahead admits Carol Thatcher
Former PM's daughter Carol issues heartfelt message of thanks for support and sympathy
Margaret Thatcher's daughter Carol yesterday said she was expecting a "tough and tearful week" ahead of her mother's funeral on Wednesday.
"I would just like to say that I feel like anyone else who has just lost a second parent," Carol Thatcher said outside her mother's former home in London. "It's a deeply sad and rather thought-provoking landmark in life."
Britain's only female prime minister, who was in power from 1979 to 1990, died of a stroke on Monday. She was 87.
Carol Thatcher, a 59-year-old journalist, said the "magnificent" tributes to her mother from world leaders were evidence of the mark she had made on the world as Britain's longest-ruling 20th century premier.
"My mother once said to me, 'Carol, I think my place in history is assured.' The magnificent tributes this week - from the wonderful words of President Obama to others from colleagues who once worked alongside her - have proved her right," she said.
"An enormous personal thank you to those who have sent me messages of sympathy and support - these have given me strength. But I know that this is going to be a tough and tearful week, even for the daughter of the 'Iron Lady'."