It will be a 'tough and tearful week even for the daughter of the Iron Lady': Carol Thatcher makes poignant statement as she thanks well-wishers for their support
Carol Thatcher said yesterday that she was expecting a ‘tough and tearful week’ as she prepared for her mother’s funeral.
Speaking outside the family home in Belgravia, Central London, Margaret Thatcher’s daughter said she felt ‘like anyone else who has just lost a second parent’.
But dressed in a black shawl, black trousers and clutching a pair of sunglasses, Ms Thatcher made clear she had found comfort in the messages of sympathy and support.
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Ms Thatcher hailed the ‘magnificent tributes’ from world leaders, including US President Barack Obama, as proof that her mother’s place in history was assured.
‘I would like to say that I feel like anyone else who has just lost a second parent. It’s a deeply sad and rather thought-provoking moment in life.
‘My mother once said to me: “Carol, I think my place in history is assured.”
‘The magnificent tributes this week, the wonderful words of President Obama, and the others of colleagues who once worked alongside her, have proved her right.’
Miss Thatcher, 59, made the poignant remark to reporters and thanked well-wishers for their outpouring of sympathy and support since Baroness Thatcher's death on Monday.
She said it had given her strength in the days before Wednesday's funeral for the former prime minister at St Paul's Cathedral.
Wearing a black shawl, black trousers
and clutching a pair of sunglasses, she posed for photographers with
brother Sir Mark after giving her statement outside the house in Chester
Square.
She made the statement after returning to Britain to help with the preparations for her mother’s funeral.
Miss Thatcher, who lives in Klosters, Switzerland, arrived at her mother’s home in Belgravia shortly before 7pm.
Meanwhile, programming chiefs at ITV
rejected plans for a news special to provide full coverage of Lady
Thatcher’s funeral, opting instead for it to be covered through This Morning.
Journalists at the broadcaster were dismayed to learn that Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield will be used as a link to the funeral as they present their popular daytime show.
According to sources, Alastair Stewart and Julie Etchingham had been lined up to present if the broadcaster had agreed to traditional live coverage on Wednesday. Now Miss Willoughby, 32, and Mr Schofield will link to Mr Stewart to provide ‘live updates’.
ITV insiders say proposals for a
special programme fronted by its journalists were rejected because of
the cost, understood to be in the region of £500,000.
One reporter on ITV News said: ‘There is always disappointment when you are leaving full coverage to others.’
Meanwhile it has been reported that Italy premier Silvio Berlusconi will not be attending the funeral, despite a concerted effort to gain an invitation.
Mr Berlusconi’s office made ‘numerous and insistent’ phone calls to the Italian embassy in London, but acting prime minister Mario Monti will represent Italy.
Speaking outside the family home in Belgravia, Central London, Margaret Thatcher’s daughter said she felt ‘like anyone else who has just lost a second parent’.
But dressed in a black shawl, black trousers and clutching a pair of sunglasses, Ms Thatcher made clear she had found comfort in the messages of sympathy and support.
Scroll down for video
'Tough and tearful': Carol Thatcher made the poignant comment to media
gathered outside the family home in Chester Square, London
Grateful: Miss Thatcher, 59, whose twin brother
Mark can be seen standing behind, thanked well-wishers for their
outpouring of sympathy and support
VIDEO See Carol Thatcher's poignant tribute to her mother
Giving an ‘enormous personal thank you’ for those messages, she said: ‘These have given me strength. But I know this is going to be a tough and tearful week, even for the daughter of the Iron Lady.’Ms Thatcher hailed the ‘magnificent tributes’ from world leaders, including US President Barack Obama, as proof that her mother’s place in history was assured.
‘I would like to say that I feel like anyone else who has just lost a second parent. It’s a deeply sad and rather thought-provoking moment in life.
‘My mother once said to me: “Carol, I think my place in history is assured.”
‘The magnificent tributes this week, the wonderful words of President Obama, and the others of colleagues who once worked alongside her, have proved her right.’
Miss Thatcher, 59, made the poignant remark to reporters and thanked well-wishers for their outpouring of sympathy and support since Baroness Thatcher's death on Monday.
She said it had given her strength in the days before Wednesday's funeral for the former prime minister at St Paul's Cathedral.
'Magnificent tributes': Baroness Thatcher's son Sir Mark looks on as his
twin sister speaks to the media outside the family home
'Deeply sad': Miss Thatcher wore a black shawl and clutched a pair of sunglasses as she delivered her statement to the press
She made the statement after returning to Britain to help with the preparations for her mother’s funeral.
Miss Thatcher, who lives in Klosters, Switzerland, arrived at her mother’s home in Belgravia shortly before 7pm.
'Tearful': The late former prime minister's daughter said messages of sympathy and support had given her strength
The daughter of the Iron Lady: Carol Thatcher spoke to reporters ahead of her mother's funeral on Wednesday
'Thought-provoking': Miss Thatcher, seen with
the former premier in 2008, said her mother had told her she thought her
place in history was 'assured'
Journalists at the broadcaster were dismayed to learn that Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield will be used as a link to the funeral as they present their popular daytime show.
According to sources, Alastair Stewart and Julie Etchingham had been lined up to present if the broadcaster had agreed to traditional live coverage on Wednesday. Now Miss Willoughby, 32, and Mr Schofield will link to Mr Stewart to provide ‘live updates’.
United in grief: Carol Thatcher, seen with her twin brother Mark outside
the family home, said the loss of their mother was a 'deeply sad
and rather thought-provoking moment in life'
In comparison, the BBC will provide
more heavyweight coverage through veteran presenter David Dimbleby,
who will front a three-hour special.
One reporter on ITV News said: ‘There is always disappointment when you are leaving full coverage to others.’
Meanwhile it has been reported that Italy premier Silvio Berlusconi will not be attending the funeral, despite a concerted effort to gain an invitation.
Mr Berlusconi’s office made ‘numerous and insistent’ phone calls to the Italian embassy in London, but acting prime minister Mario Monti will represent Italy.
Funeral arrangements: Baroness Thatcher will
receive a ceremonial funeral with military honours at St Paul's
Cathedral on Wednesday
Statement: Baroness Thatcher, who was Britain's
first and only female prime minister, died at the Ritz on Monday at the
age of 87
Family photo: Carol and Mark Thatcher posed outside Lady
Thatcher's Belgravia home with their respective partners; Miss
Thatcher's boyfriend Marco Grass and Sir Mark's wife Sarah