Cynthia Crawford is the former personal assistant to

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...

. A member of the local

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

party in

Finchley Finchley () is a large district of north London, England, in the London Borough of Barnet. north of Charing Cross, nearby districts include: Golders Green, Muswell Hill, Friern Barnet, Whetstone, London, Whetstone, Mill Hill and Hendon. It is ...

, she later helped run Thatcher's household throughout the latter's tenure as

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister Advice (constitutional law), advises the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, sovereign on the exercise of much of the Royal prerogative ...

and acted as her ''confidante''. She was known as "Crawfie" to the Thatchers.

Career

Crawford began her career as a secretary before being hired by Thatcher family in 1978. Crawford has given several interviews about her experiences, including details of Thatcher's fondness for drinking spirits late at night and her use of B12 injections. According to Crawford, Thatcher believed that

whisky Whisky or whiskey is a type of liquor made from Fermentation in food processing, fermented grain mashing, mash. Various grains (which may be Malting, malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, Maize, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky ...

kept her alert, saying "Dear, you cannot drink

gin and tonic A gin and tonic is a highball cocktail made with gin and tonic water poured over a large amount of ice. The ratio of gin to tonic varies according to taste, strength of the gin, other drink mixers being added, etc., with most recipes calling for ...

in the middle of the night. You must have whisky to give you energy." Thatcher told Crawford about her first meeting with then-governor

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

, shortly after she had become Conservative party leader. Reagan had told her that he "intended to try and become

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

". Thatcher said to him, "I ''am'' going to become Prime Minister". Crawford was present at the death of

Denis Thatcher Sir Denis Thatcher, 1st Baronet, (10 May 1915 – 26 June 2003) was an English businessman and the husband of Margaret Thatcher, who served as the first female British prime minister from 1979 to 1990; thus, he became the first male prime min ...

in June 2003, saying "I was holding Lady Thatcher's hand, and she was holding Sir Denis's hand when he died". She said "he was her absolute soulmate."Colin Brown, 'I was holding Lady Thatcher's hand and she was holding Denis's when he died. There were no final words', ''The Telegraph'', 29 Jun 2003. She latterly lived as Lady Thatcher's friend and companion. On 27 January 2021, Crawford was appointed the first female president of

Worcestershire County Cricket Club Worcestershire County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Worcestershire. Its Vitality Blast T20 team has been rebranded ...

Personal life

She married Ray Crawford and lives in

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engl ...

Cultural depictions

In the BBC drama ''

Margaret Margaret is a feminine given name, which means "pearl". It is of Latin origin, via Ancient Greek and ultimately from Iranian languages, Old Iranian. It has been an English language, English name since the 11th century, and remained popular thro ...

'', Crawford was played by Jenny Howe and in the 2011 film '' The Iron Lady'' by Angela Curran.

References

Living people Year of birth missing (living people) {{UK-gov-bio-stub