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Margaret Thatcher dies: Two wives of Sir Mark Thatcher to attend funeral
The two wives of Sir Mark Thatcher will attend the funeral of his mother next week after Baroness Thatcher requested before she died that both her daughter-in-laws attend.
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Sir Mark, 59, was flying back to the UK last night after spending 25 years living and working abroad bar regular visits home to see his mother. Sir Mark will be accompanied at the funeral by his second wife Sarah, whom he married in secret in 2008.
His first wife Diane Beckett, who lives in Dallas, Texas, will travel to London next week accompanied by the couple’s two children Michael, 24, and 19-year-old Amanda – Baroness Thatcher’s only grandchildren.
Mrs Beckett, who will attend with her new husband James Beckett, a multi-millionaire sports publisher, told The Telegraph: “We were so very sad to hear the news. She led an incredible life, and she will be dearly missed.
“My children and I are of course heartbroken, but we also have some wonderful memories. And I’d like to leave my statements at that for now.”
Asked what their enduring memory of Baroness Thatcher would be, Mrs Beckett, 52, said: “Just an incredible respect for her legacy”.
A close friend said Mrs Beckett, a Texan heiress, had stayed on good terms with Baroness Thatcher after returning home from South Africa when her 18-year marriage to Sir Mark broke down.
“They were invited by Lady Thatcher even before her departure,” the friend said yesterday. “There was never any animosity there – both Mark and Diane remarried, and Lady Thatcher always loved Diane.”
Sir Mark’s appearance at his mother’s funeral next week will be a rare public outing for him in the UK. He currently lives in Spain but was on holiday in Barbados with his second wife Sarah, the sister of Viscountess Rothermere, when his mother died. Sir Mark married Sarah in secret at a register office in Gibraltar, and were joined by just three guests. Neither his mother, nor Sir Mark’s twin sister Carol were among those at the ceremony.
Sarah is the former wife of Lord Francis Russell and the eldest daughter of Terry Clemence, a millionaire developer. She owns a number of properties in Mayfair, central London.
The end of Sir Mark’s first marriage coincided with the revelation of his involvement in a plot to overthrow the president of the oil-rich African state of Equatorial Guinea. In 2005, Sir Mark received a four-year suspended jail term and a £265,000 fine in South Africa, for his involvement in the so-called “Wonga Coup”.
The conviction meant that Sir Mark could not enter the US to visit his children, whose mother was given custody in the divorce.
Michael Thatcher, an accomplished American football player at high school, went on to study at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, and has recently worked for a Republican-aligned political organisation that aims to “educate and empower the Hispanic community with conservative values”.
The family friend said: “Michael has always been very discreet and very prudent but he stands strong on his conservative values. He has many friends who are Hispanic, and has always been a friend of the Hispanic community”.
Amanda Thatcher, who excelled as a runner at school, graduated in 2012 and is now studying at the University of Richmond, in Virginia, where she has joined the running team. Amanda, who closely resembles her father, loves baking and horse-riding and is “a beautiful singer with a melodious voice,” the friend said.
Both grandchildren are, like their mother, committed Christians who have carried out voluntary work. Michael built houses in the US and Amanda travelled to China for missionary work.
“They’re very kind-hearted and have missionary minds,” the friend said. “They have very strong hearts for the Lord. Whatever they can do to help people they do but neither wants to be the star or centre of attention.”
Despite being proud of their heritage, the grandchildren are said to be “very regular people”, keen to shun the public spotlight that was felt keenly by their father over the past three decades.
“It’s not their desire to be public figures,” the friend said. “They certainly loved their grandmother very much, and not very long ago went to visit her. They’re grieving now, but they are also very moved by all the outpouring of emotion around the world.”
Michael, in particular, is “friendly and respectful, and never uses the Thatcher name to get ahead”, according to the friend.
Sir Mark and Sarah have been on holiday in Barbados, believed to be staying in a £3.2 million villa on the exclusive Sandy Lane estate which they bought two years ago.
Sir Mark has lived abroad for much of his life, having moved to the United States in 1987, before relocating to South Africa. More recently, he has been based in Marbella, southern Spain.
His peripatetic existence has also seen him linked with attempts to settle in several different locations around the globe, including Monaco, Switzerland, Gibraltar, Barbados and Guernsey.
In recent years, with his mother ailing, he has made frequent visits, typically every four to six weeks, to see her. He has made a fortune over the years through business deals chiefly negotiated in the Middle East. But his fortunes are said to have suffered after his involvement in the Equatorial Guinea plot and in 2008 he was involved in a disagreement with his former friend and fellow Old Harrovian Stephen Humberstone, from whom he rented a £3 million villa, Casa Flores, in Marbella.
Mr Humberstone fell out with Sir Mark over allegations that he was owed rent. In 2008, Mr Humberstone told reporters: “I want him off my property as soon as possible. If you see him, punch him in the face for me.”
Neighbours yesterday said the house has lain vacant for months, but Sir Mark and Sarah, until recently, had been regularly sighted in bars and restaurants around the nearby resort of Puerto Banus according to local reports and are believed to have moved to another rented house within the same area.
Sir Mark and Sarah, a sister of Viscountess Rothermere, were married in secret at a register office in 2008 in Gibraltar, and were joined by just three guests. Neither his mother, nor Sir Mark’s twin sister Carol were among those at the ceremony.