Ups and downs of a family
Margaret Thatcher not only promoted the concept of family life throughout her political career, she was also someone for whom the family was an essential part of her own life.
She said many times she could not have achieved what she did without the support of her husband Denis, 10 years her senior.
But there were crises in her family life as well. Some months after the death of her husband, their son, Sir Mark, was charged in August 2004 with plotting a coup to overthrow the government of Equatorial Guinea – a charge which could have led to the death penalty.
This deeply upset his mother, then in fragile health. But to her relief, he reached a plea bargain, made a guilty plea and was given a large fine and a suspended prison sentence.