'My mother would be honoured and humbled that the Queen is attending her funeral': Mark Thatcher pays tribute from steps of former PM's London home as he returns to Britain from Barbados
Sir Mark Thatcher today said Baroness Thatcher would have been 'honoured and humbled' by the presence of the Queen at her funeral.
Speaking outside his mother’s home in Belgravia, central London, Sir Mark said his mother's death was 'without doubt a very sad moment'.
In his first appearance since the 86-year-old's death from a stroke on Monday, he said Lady Thatcher 'was blessed with a long life, and a very full one.'
Grief: Speaking for the first time since Baroness Thatcher's death on Monday, he said his mother had been blessed with 'a long life, and a very full one', but her death was 'without doubt a very sad moment'
Messages: Sir Mark added the messages of support following his mother's death would be a 'source of encouragement and strength as we face the inevitable days ahead'
'However the inevitability or the inevitable conclusion may appear of the recent illness that she suffered, it is no easier for us to bear in what is without doubt a very sad moment. it
The 59-year-old, who flew back to London from his Barbados holiday last night, said the family had been 'simply been overwhelmed by messages of support.' 'I know that my mother would be pleased they have come from people of all walks of life.'
He added the messages would be 'a source of encouragement and strength as we face the inevitable days ahead and for that I am most grateful.'
The announcement was made outside her Chester Square house which was Lady Thatcher's home from 1991 until she moved into the Ritz hotel in London at Christmas following an operation.
Address: Sir Mark Thatcher addresses the media outside her London home earlier today
SIR MARK THATCHER'S TRIBUTE TO HIS MOTHER IN FULL
'I would like to say how enormously proud and grateful we are that Her Majesty has agreed to attend the service next week in St Paul's.
'And I know my mother would be greatly honoured as well as humbled by her presence
'By any measure, my mother was blessed with a long life and a very full one.
'However the inevitability or the inevitable conclusion may appear, of the recent illness that she suffered, it is no easier for us to bear in what is without doubt a very sad moment.
'We have quite simply been overwhelmed by messages of support, condolence, of every type from far and wide and I know that my mother would be pleased they come from people of all walks of life.
'These messages often convey personal stories and vignettes of part of the journey of my mother's life and we are all enormously grateful for the warmth that these messages convey and they will be a source of encouragement and strength as we face the inevitable days ahead and for that I am most grateful.'
Today it was reported Sir Mark's former wife and current wife will both be attending the funeral of his mother at her request.
His first wife Diane Beckett, who lives in Dallas, Texas, will fly to London next week to attend the service.
His second and current wife Sarah Thatcher will also be present.
It is believed Baroness Thatcher requested before she died that both her daughters-in-law attend.
Mrs Beckett will be accompanied by the couple’s two children Michael, 24, and 19-year-old Amanda – Baroness Thatcher’s only grandchildren - and new husband James Beckett, a multi-millionaire sports publisher.
Mrs Beckett told The Telegraph: 'She led an incredible life, and she will be dearly missed.
My children and I are of course heartbroken, but we also have some wonderful memories.'
She said she did not want to make any further statement but added that her enduring memory for Baroness Thatcher would be an 'incredible respect for her legacy.'
It is believed Mrs Beckett had remained friends with Baroness Thatcher after her and Sir Mark's marriage broke down
Margaret Thatcher with son Mark and wife Sarah on her 87th birthday today. The former PM is said to have requested that both of her son's wives attend her funeral
A close friend told the paper that there was never any animosity and that Lady Thatcher had always 'loved Diane'.
Sir Mark lives in Spain with his second wife Sarah Jane Russell, whom he married in secret at a register office in Gibraltar, but he is said to have has made frequent visits, typically every four to six weeks, to see his mother in recent years.
He was on holiday at a rented multi-million-pound villa in Barbados when he was informed.
The five-bedroom property overlooks the Caribbean Sea and is on the fringes of the exclusive Sandy Lane estate on the island’s scenic West Coast.
A close friend told the paper that there was never any animosity and that Lady Thatcher (left) had always 'loved Diane', Sir Mark's first wife (right)
Baroness Thatcher leaves The Guards Chapel following a memorial service for her late husband Sir Denis Thatcher, with daughter-in-law Diane, Mark Thatcher, granddaughter Amanda, Baroness Thatcher, grandson Michael and daughter Carol
He and his wife, packed up and left early yesterday morning to fly to London.
A member of staff at the villa told the Daily Mail: ‘He is only as good as can be expected under the circumstances. It is very tough for him.
‘He has gone away now. He left very early and he was gone by the time we got to work. His wife went with him.’
In 2005, Sir Mark received a four-year suspended jail term and a £265,000 fine in South Africa, for his involvement in a plot to overthrow the president of the oil-rich African state of Equatorial Guinea.
Baroness Margaret Thatcher at the age of 33, has time to play with her twin children Mark and Carol aged six, Both engrossed in their toy garage and motor cars in 1959
His conviction meant that Sir Mark could not enter the US to visit his children, whose mother was given custody in the divorce.
Michael Thatcher, is said to have been an accomplished American football player at high school, and went on to study at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas.
He has recently worked for a Republican-aligned political organisation that aims to 'educate and empower the Hispanic community with conservative values'.
Carol Thatcher with her mother. The daughter has left Switzerland so she can return for her mother's service
Amanda Thatcher, who is said to be an excellent runner, and most closely resembles her father, enjoys baking and horse-riding and singing.
A family friend told The Telegraph they had loved their grandmother very much and had recently been to see her.
'They’re grieving now, but they are also very moved by all the outpouring of emotion around the world.'
Carol Thatcher lives in Klosters, the upmarket ski resort in the Swiss Alps favoured by the Royals.
She left on Sunday morning – the day before her mother’s stroke – on a pre-planned trip, according to her partner, ski instructor Marco Grass.
A neighbour of their apartment, which has a traditional Swiss wooden balcony with stunning views, said Carol had caught a train at 10am to Zurich.
The neighbour added: ‘Everybody knew about Carol’s famous mother. The news is very sad.’
Carol’s whereabouts since then have been unknown, but she is said to have remained abroad until yesterday when she arrived in London.
Happier times: Margaret Thatcher, takes a stroll through the grounds of Scotney Castle in Kent, with her husband Denis, and their twins Mark and Carol, in photographed in March 1979
The Thatcher siblings have courted controversy ever since their mother entered 10 Downing Street in 1979.
Lady Thatcher’s son first hit the headlines in 1982, the year of the Falklands War, when he went missing in the Sahara Desert for six days while competing in the Paris-Dakar rally. Carol abandoned Britain after being dropped as a correspondent on BBC1’s One Show for describing a tennis player as a ‘golliwog’ in 2009.
The Thatcher twins have largely stayed out of the public eye since moving abroad.
The statement released on Monday by Lord Bell to announce the death of the former Prime Minister was issued in the name of her two children.
However, they have kept a low profile since, and have not chosen to share publicly any personal tributes to Lady Thatcher
Speaking outside his mother’s home in Belgravia, central London, Sir Mark said his mother's death was 'without doubt a very sad moment'.
In his first appearance since the 86-year-old's death from a stroke on Monday, he said Lady Thatcher 'was blessed with a long life, and a very full one.'
Grief: Speaking for the first time since Baroness Thatcher's death on Monday, he said his mother had been blessed with 'a long life, and a very full one', but her death was 'without doubt a very sad moment'
Messages: Sir Mark added the messages of support following his mother's death would be a 'source of encouragement and strength as we face the inevitable days ahead'
'However the inevitability or the inevitable conclusion may appear of the recent illness that she suffered, it is no easier for us to bear in what is without doubt a very sad moment. it
The 59-year-old, who flew back to London from his Barbados holiday last night, said the family had been 'simply been overwhelmed by messages of support.' 'I know that my mother would be pleased they have come from people of all walks of life.'
He added the messages would be 'a source of encouragement and strength as we face the inevitable days ahead and for that I am most grateful.'
The announcement was made outside her Chester Square house which was Lady Thatcher's home from 1991 until she moved into the Ritz hotel in London at Christmas following an operation.
Address: Sir Mark Thatcher addresses the media outside her London home earlier today
SIR MARK THATCHER'S TRIBUTE TO HIS MOTHER IN FULL
'I would like to say how enormously proud and grateful we are that Her Majesty has agreed to attend the service next week in St Paul's.
'And I know my mother would be greatly honoured as well as humbled by her presence
'By any measure, my mother was blessed with a long life and a very full one.
'However the inevitability or the inevitable conclusion may appear, of the recent illness that she suffered, it is no easier for us to bear in what is without doubt a very sad moment.
'We have quite simply been overwhelmed by messages of support, condolence, of every type from far and wide and I know that my mother would be pleased they come from people of all walks of life.
'These messages often convey personal stories and vignettes of part of the journey of my mother's life and we are all enormously grateful for the warmth that these messages convey and they will be a source of encouragement and strength as we face the inevitable days ahead and for that I am most grateful.'
Today it was reported Sir Mark's former wife and current wife will both be attending the funeral of his mother at her request.
His first wife Diane Beckett, who lives in Dallas, Texas, will fly to London next week to attend the service.
His second and current wife Sarah Thatcher will also be present.
It is believed Baroness Thatcher requested before she died that both her daughters-in-law attend.
Mrs Beckett will be accompanied by the couple’s two children Michael, 24, and 19-year-old Amanda – Baroness Thatcher’s only grandchildren - and new husband James Beckett, a multi-millionaire sports publisher.
Mrs Beckett told The Telegraph: 'She led an incredible life, and she will be dearly missed.
My children and I are of course heartbroken, but we also have some wonderful memories.'
She said she did not want to make any further statement but added that her enduring memory for Baroness Thatcher would be an 'incredible respect for her legacy.'
It is believed Mrs Beckett had remained friends with Baroness Thatcher after her and Sir Mark's marriage broke down
Margaret Thatcher with son Mark and wife Sarah on her 87th birthday today. The former PM is said to have requested that both of her son's wives attend her funeral
A close friend told the paper that there was never any animosity and that Lady Thatcher had always 'loved Diane'.
Sir Mark lives in Spain with his second wife Sarah Jane Russell, whom he married in secret at a register office in Gibraltar, but he is said to have has made frequent visits, typically every four to six weeks, to see his mother in recent years.
He was on holiday at a rented multi-million-pound villa in Barbados when he was informed.
The five-bedroom property overlooks the Caribbean Sea and is on the fringes of the exclusive Sandy Lane estate on the island’s scenic West Coast.
A close friend told the paper that there was never any animosity and that Lady Thatcher (left) had always 'loved Diane', Sir Mark's first wife (right)
Baroness Thatcher leaves The Guards Chapel following a memorial service for her late husband Sir Denis Thatcher, with daughter-in-law Diane, Mark Thatcher, granddaughter Amanda, Baroness Thatcher, grandson Michael and daughter Carol
He and his wife, packed up and left early yesterday morning to fly to London.
A member of staff at the villa told the Daily Mail: ‘He is only as good as can be expected under the circumstances. It is very tough for him.
‘He has gone away now. He left very early and he was gone by the time we got to work. His wife went with him.’
In 2005, Sir Mark received a four-year suspended jail term and a £265,000 fine in South Africa, for his involvement in a plot to overthrow the president of the oil-rich African state of Equatorial Guinea.
Baroness Margaret Thatcher at the age of 33, has time to play with her twin children Mark and Carol aged six, Both engrossed in their toy garage and motor cars in 1959
His conviction meant that Sir Mark could not enter the US to visit his children, whose mother was given custody in the divorce.
Michael Thatcher, is said to have been an accomplished American football player at high school, and went on to study at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas.
He has recently worked for a Republican-aligned political organisation that aims to 'educate and empower the Hispanic community with conservative values'.
Carol Thatcher with her mother. The daughter has left Switzerland so she can return for her mother's service
Amanda Thatcher, who is said to be an excellent runner, and most closely resembles her father, enjoys baking and horse-riding and singing.
A family friend told The Telegraph they had loved their grandmother very much and had recently been to see her.
'They’re grieving now, but they are also very moved by all the outpouring of emotion around the world.'
Carol Thatcher lives in Klosters, the upmarket ski resort in the Swiss Alps favoured by the Royals.
She left on Sunday morning – the day before her mother’s stroke – on a pre-planned trip, according to her partner, ski instructor Marco Grass.
A neighbour of their apartment, which has a traditional Swiss wooden balcony with stunning views, said Carol had caught a train at 10am to Zurich.
The neighbour added: ‘Everybody knew about Carol’s famous mother. The news is very sad.’
Carol’s whereabouts since then have been unknown, but she is said to have remained abroad until yesterday when she arrived in London.
Happier times: Margaret Thatcher, takes a stroll through the grounds of Scotney Castle in Kent, with her husband Denis, and their twins Mark and Carol, in photographed in March 1979
The Thatcher siblings have courted controversy ever since their mother entered 10 Downing Street in 1979.
Lady Thatcher’s son first hit the headlines in 1982, the year of the Falklands War, when he went missing in the Sahara Desert for six days while competing in the Paris-Dakar rally. Carol abandoned Britain after being dropped as a correspondent on BBC1’s One Show for describing a tennis player as a ‘golliwog’ in 2009.
The Thatcher twins have largely stayed out of the public eye since moving abroad.
The statement released on Monday by Lord Bell to announce the death of the former Prime Minister was issued in the name of her two children.
However, they have kept a low profile since, and have not chosen to share publicly any personal tributes to Lady Thatcher