Cynthia Crawford is the former personal assistant to

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...

. A member of the local Conservative party in

Finchley Finchley () is a large district of north London, England, in the London Borough of Barnet. Finchley is on high ground, north of Charing Cross. Nearby districts include: Golders Green, Muswell Hill, Friern Barnet, Whetstone, Mill Hill and H ...

, 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 advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern pr ...

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 Vitamin B12, also known as cobalamin, is a water-soluble vitamin involved in metabolism. It is one of eight B vitamins. It is required by animals, which use it as a cofactor in DNA synthesis, in both fatty acid and amino acid metabolism. It ...

injections. According to Crawford, Thatcher believed that whisky kept her alert, saying "Dear, you cannot drink gin and tonic 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, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

, 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: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

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

Cultural depictions

In the BBC drama ''

Margaret Margaret is a female first name, derived via French () and Latin () from grc, μαργαρίτης () meaning "pearl". The Greek is borrowed from Persian. Margaret has been an English name since the 11th century, and remained popular througho ...

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

Angela Curran Angela Curran is an English actress, known for '' Death at a Funeral'' (2007), ''Jane Eyre'' (2011) and ''The Danish Girl'' (2015). In 2003, Curran had her own one woman show, ''Happy Talk'', broadcast on Radio 3. She appeared as security gua ...

References

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