Margaret Thatcher's handbags, jewellery and clothes go under hammer
Image copyright
Christie's/PA
A ring Margaret Thatcher wore the day she became the UK's first female Prime Minister in 1979 is among a haul of personal possessions that will be auctioned next month.
Christie's auction house is holding an online sale of personal items to mark the 40th anniversary of her election.
A bracelet worn while meeting Nelson Mandela, clothes and signature handbags will also be sold.
Christie's estimated the 170 lots could sell from between £100 to £15,000.
It is the third Christie's auction of the belongings of Mrs Thatcher, who was born in Grantham, Lincolnshire, and died of a stroke in 2013.
The 18-carat gold and amethyst ring that she was photographed wearing when she arrived at 10 Downing Street, on 4 May 1979, is expected to sell for between £1,200 and £1,800.
Mrs Thatcher's radical and sometimes confrontational approach defined her 11-year period at No 10 and her rejection of consensus politics made her a divisive figure.
Other items in the sale include a diamond-set gilt Cartier pen in its box and an Asprey handbag, which has a lizard skin exterior.
Adrian Hume-Sayer, of Christie's, said the auction offered collectors, admirers and enthusiasts "one last chance to bid for a memento of 'The Iron Lady'".
The sale is to open for bidding between 2 and 9 May.
Margaret Thatcher timeline
- Born Margaret Roberts on 13 October 1925
- First stood for Parliament in the 1950 election
- Elected as Conservative MP for Finchley in 1959
- Defeated Heath in Tory leadership contest in 1975
- Became first female prime minister after Conservative election victory in 1979
- Wins landslide election victory in 1983
- Wins third general election victory in 1987
- Resigns after facing leadership challenge in 1990
- Stands down as MP in 1992 and awarded a peerage.
Follow BBC Yorkshire on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to yorkslincs.news@bbc.co.uk.
