Baroness Margaret Thatcher suffered “a very minor stroke” while on holiday in Madeira just before the New Year, revealed her official spokesperson over the weekend. The former prime minister was hospitalised for a short time, but is now thought to have made a good recovery.
“She had a small stroke,” said a spokesman for the Baroness. “She had a rest for a couple of days, but since then she has resumed her duties. We are very happy with her progress.”
The 76-year-old checked herself in to a hospital on the resort island just before the new year when she began having problems with coordination and speech. She then spent two days under a doctor’s care, with husband Sir Denis at her bedside. The couple were in Madeira to celebrate their golden wedding anniversary.
The former stateswoman has remained busy since leaving office in 1990, and is famed for her packed schedule of lecture tours and book promotions. “She’s done pretty well up until now on the health front, all things considered,” said her daughter Carol. “I have been campaigning for her to wind down, but she still has a remarkable constitution for her age.”
Since her return from Madeira, Lady Thatcher has attended sessions of the House of Lords and also represented the Queen at a recent Westminster Abbey memorial service for former Lord Chancellor Lord Hailsham. This year she plans to make five US lecture tours and has a new book, State Craft, due in the spring.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
