Denis Thatcher 1979 general election to become the first female Prime Minister in British history. Denis Thatcher became the first husband of a British Prime Minister. In 1953, they had twin children (Carol and Mark), who were born on 15 August, seven weeks premature. Thatcher was watching the 1953 Ashes series at the time of the birth. Not long after the 1964 general election, Denis Thatcher suffered a nervous breakdown which put a severe strain on their marriage. The breakdown was probably caused by the increasing pressure of running the family business, caring for his relatives, and his wife's preoccupation with her
Margaret Thatcher not shared by others in her Cabinet. She resigned as Prime Minister and party leader in November 1990, after Michael Heseltine launched a challenge to her leadership. After retiring from the Commons in 1992, she was given a life peerage as Baroness Thatcher (of Kesteven in the County of Lincolnshire) which entitled her to sit in the House of Lords. In 2013, she died of a stroke in London at the age of 87. Always a controversial figure, she is nonetheless viewed favourably in historical rankings of British prime ministers, and her tenure constituted a realignment towards neoliberal policies in