As briefcases go, there's none more exclusive than the red leather prime ministerial dispatch box embossed, in gold, with the royal cypher of Queen Elizabeth II. The famous "red box" owned by Margaret Thatcher – accompanied by a bound copy of her final speech to the House of Commons in November 1990 – is expected to attract worldwide interest when it is auctioned at Christie's in London next month with a top estimate of £5,000 (€7,019) – a figure likely to prove very conservative.
Thatcher, British prime minister from 1979 until she resigned in 1990, later sat in the House of Lords as Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven. Lady Thatcher died in 2013 and her personal collection is being sold by her heirs: daughter Carol and son, Sir Mark Thatcher.
Christie’s said some 350 lots – clothes (including the former prime minister’s “midnight blue velvet wedding dress”), handbags, speeches, jewels and mementoes – will go under the hammer in London, most in an auction on December 15th and some in an online-only sale.
Giver her worldwide renown, estimates – ranging from £200 up to £180,000 – are likely to be greatly exceeded as happened in previous auctions of the possessions of famous 20th century women, most notably Jackie Kennedy, the Duchess of Windsor (Mrs Simpson) and Elizabeth Taylor.
