Obituary: Sir Denis Thatcher

Industrialist. Died aged 88

Sir Denis Thatcher was renowned for his love of gin and golf, as well as for his role as the steadfast consort of Britain's first woman Prime Minister.

He was hailed as a "legend"and "national institution" yesterday by British politicians from across the generations and political divide.

The multimillionaire industrialist, who loyally supported Lady Thatcher during her 11 years in power, died at the Lister Hospital in Chelsea, London, surrounded by his family, after a short illness.

The Tory leader, Iain Duncan Smith, a former protege of Lady Thatcher, said he was devastated by his death.

"Denis Thatcher was one of the most decent, determined and kind people that we have known," Duncan Smith said.

"In a world that so often seems to have lost its manners, Denis Thatcher represented so much of what was best in the wartime generation."

British Prime Minister Tony Blair conveyed his "deepest sympathy" to Lady Thatcher and her family.

"He was a successful businessman, a devoted family man, loyal friend and always entertaining company," Mr Blair said.

Sir Denis was born in 1915, the son of a paint manufacturer. During World War Two he was mentioned in despatches for bravery.

He had been married once before - to Margaret Kempson - when he met Margaret Roberts whom he married in 1951, by which time he was already well established as a successful businessman.

Although he had strong, right-wing political views of his own, he allowed his wife to steal the political limelight, quietly helping her to shoulder the burden of political office.

The former Foreign Secretary, Lord Carrington, said: "Denis Thatcher was a legend in his time. People do not realise how much she relied on him."

Lady Thatcher once described Sir Denis as "the golden thread" running through her life, saying that he "has made everything possible".

Sir Denis did not seem particularly worried by his public image as the gin-sozzled, hen-pecked husband portrayed in Private Eye's fictitious Dear Bill column, which led to a West End show Anyone for Denis?

He was always courteous and friendly to journalists on press trips and was known for his amusing quips.

Once asked how he liked to spend his time, he replied: "Well, when I'm not completely pissed, I like to play a lot of golf."

An inquiry about who wore the trousers in Number 10 was greeted with the reply: "I do, and I wash and iron them too."

When the Duchess of York complained to him about her hounding by the press after the revelation of her toe-sucking, she said: "Oh Denis, I do get an awful press, don't I?"

He replied "Yes, Ma'am. Has it occurred to you to keep your mouth shut?"

Lord Brittan, who served in Lady Thatcher's Cabinet, said Sir Denis was "always extraordinarily kind, extraordinarily courteous, extraordinarily friendly".

But he said that, although he held firm political views, he never tried to impose them.

"He clearly had strong political views which were pretty right-wing usually, and I think very often they shared views, but she didn't always give effect to them, not because she disagreed but because she saw that it wasn't politically feasible to do so," Brittan told BBC News 24.

"He was always extraordinarily kind, extraordinarily courteous, extraordinarily friendly. He looked after her in a remarkable way.

"He didn't try to control her - that would have been an impossible task - but he was there, always with encouragement, a constant companion and a tremendous influence for good."

Sir Denis did attract some controversy during his career after he sold the family paint business to Burmah, the oil group, in the 1950s.

Burmah subsequently collapsed and Sir Denis, who had become a director of the company, was considered by some to share some degree of responsibility for its failure.

Mark, their businessman son, inherits the baronetcy and becomes Sir Mark Thatcher. He has a twin sister, Carol.

John Major, who succeeded Lady Thatcher as Prime Minister, said: "He was a substantial man in his own right and provided Margaret Thatcher with dispassionate advice that he was wise enough to keep private and Margaret was wise enough to accept."

The former Tory leader, William Hague, called Sir Denis "one of the kindest men I have ever known".

- INDEPENDENT