Margaret Thatcher suffering from dementia, says daughter

August 25, 2008 Carol Thatcher, the daughter of the former Prime Minister of Britain Margaret Thatcher, has revealed that her mother is suffering from dementia.

The revelation is to be published in Carol's memoirs titled A Swim-On Part in the Goldfish Bowl: A Memoir, which is to go on sale in September. In them, Carol states that her mother's illness is "a case of classic dementia, coupled with a series of mini-strokes." Mrs Thatcher suffered several strokes in 2002, but suffered no short term memory loss as a result. Carol states that the signs of her illness began to take effect in 2000.

"As she became increasingly frail, many of her friends and colleagues became extraordinarily considerate when dealing with the new Lady T. The woman who had dominated discussions for so long could no longer lead debates or keep up with the thread of a drinks-party conversation," wrote Carol who also said that at times Mrs Thatcher forgets that her late husband Denis is dead. He died in June of 2003 from complications of pancreatic cancer.

"I had to keep giving her the bad news again and again. Every time it finally sank in that she had lost her husband of more than 50 years, she’d look at me sadly and say ‘Oh’," states Carol in her memoirs.

Margaret Thatcher is currently 82. She was born on October 13, 1925, and served as the Prime Minister of the U.K. for 11 years, from 1979 to 1990.