Margaret Thatcher — Grocer’s Daughter to Iron Lady

Abstract

When Alfred Roberts, a Grantham grocer, and his wife, Beatrice, had their second and last child on 13 October 1925, they apparently hoped to have a son, rather than a sister for their four-year-old daughter, Muriel. Beatrice, indeed, may never have got over her disappointment, and seems to have failed to develop a warm, loving relationship with the child, who was named Margaret Hilda. Alfred reacted differently, treating her exactly the same as if she were a boy, and the young Margaret grew up doing everything she could to meet her father’s expectations, always declaring that he was the role model for her life.