Margaret Thatcher Christies auction: Famous blue suit, “Tank Raincoat”, Faulklands table and dispatch box of former Prime Minsiter go under the hammer
Aquascutum power suits, a Prime ministerial dispatch box and letters from Ronald Reagan: these are just some of the personal items once belonging to former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher which are about to go under the hammer.
The auction of hundreds of items which once belonged to the UK's first female Prime Minister will take place at Christies in London this week. It will also include her blue velvet wedding dress and iconic handbags, with the personal effects expected to fetch around half-a-million pounds in total.
Read more: Thatcher is the most influential woman of the past 200 years
The auction will take place on Tuesday, while a separate online sale, which started on 3 December, will also end on Wednesday.
Thatcher's iconic blue suit is expected to go for between £1,200 and £1,800 in the online sale
A Launer London handbag could fetch up to £3,000.
The wedding dress worn in 1951 at her marriage to Denis Thatcher is estimated to go for between £10,000 and £15,000.
The iconic "Tank Raincoat" famously warn while driving a tank can be yours for £10,000 – £20,000.
Furniture up for sale includes a wooden table engraved with a map of the Falklands, made for her by RAF apprentices. The estimate of £400-£600 has already been surpassed and the current bid stands at more than twice that.
A model of an American bald eagle presented to Thatcher by Reagan comes with a £5,000 – £8,000 guide price. It's inscribed with a plaque that reads "‘Presented to the Hon. Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister of Great Britain for staunch and spirited support of the market economy principle."
Other items include jewellery, porcelain, gold and silver trinket boxes which Thatcher collected, a bronze cast of Thatcher's hands taken by Madame Tussauds, a set of Tiffany coffee spoons embossed with the Presidential seal, and a collection of 13 books written by or about Winston Churchill.
Watch the Iron Lady's personal assistant and friend Cynthia Crawford talk about the former PM's choice in clothing below.