THE BARONESS THATCHER LG OM PCLady Thatcher is 87 today.
The Right Honourable Margaret Hilda [Thatcher], Baroness Thatcher, Lady of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, Member of the Order of Merit, One of Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council.
Lady Thatcher's coat-of-arms is illustrated at the top, including the coronet of a peer of the fifth degree; and the badge of the Order of Merit, suspended below.
I too believe that Baroness Thatcher should have been accorded the highest available honour. It is disgraceful that people continue to discredit her. I was fortunate to be her hostess when she visited a drug rehab I managed. She completely won over my very left wing clients and stayed for over three hours. She was an honest PM and doesn't get the credit for that. Few present day MPs or PMs deserve any honours.
ReplyDeleteWe're on the same wavelength! Best wishes,
ReplyDeleteTim
Sadly, she wasn't offered an earldom. At least Denis got the Bt. I'm inclined to think Sir John Major is holding out for a hereditary (never going to happen...)
ReplyDeleteIndeed.
ReplyDeleteTo my mind Lady T ought to have been offered an earldom, as has customarily been the case with former PMs - including Labour.
Agreed. Harold Wilson did away with all that, she revived it for, inter alia, Macmillan - probably hoping to get it herself. It would be nice if Cameron would give her one if he gets in, she'd still be in Lords as a lifer, but he never will.
ReplyDeleteIt's sometimes said now that the hereditary peerage should be re-utilised, as it no longer bears on the legislature and therefore does no "harm" to those saying it's un-democratic. However, the Irish peerage could have been used for this purpose from 1801, and certainly from 1922, but it never was (you'll know Curzon was the last in 1898; he was then elected to the Lords.)
Those deserving of a HP now are few and far between.
I would agree here but I feel that ALL Prime Ministers should receive an hereditary peerage as in the past regardless of who they were or how good or bad they performed.
ReplyDeleteThe re-use of the hereditary peerage by Mrs T with Whitelaw & the Speaker was controversial but each had no children and each title became extinct after 1st creation.
Perhaps the Baronetcy system should be restarted/
Gavin, absolutely. All PMs should be offered earldoms; whether some ought to accept is another matter!
ReplyDeleteAnon, you misunderstand me! Indeed, the earldom would have her title and rank of a countess; and Sir Mark (groan!) would automatically succeed to the earldom.
When you say 'All PMs should be offered earldoms; whether some ought to accept is another matter!' would you include Tony Blair in this? I am sure he would accept on the basis that 'he was doing the right thing' (Again...)
ReplyDeleteIts simply ridiculous that she could only get a title via her husband.
ReplyDeleteWhy couldn't she be (say) a Countess in her own right & leave it to Carol - who is worth at least ten of Mark?
How about 'Countess Carryduff' in the Peerage of Ireland? I seem to remember her 'touching down' there in the 1980's. VC
ReplyDeleteVC, the Countess of Carryduff has a certain ring to it. Should we run it through Mark? ;-)
ReplyDelete