20 Mind-Blowing Facts About Margaret Thatcher

"The Iron Lady", "Maggie", "Attilla the Hen", and "Thatcher, the Milk Snatcher" - these are just some of the nicknames given to Margaret Thatcher, Britain's first and to date only female Prime Minister. Arguably the most-controversial Prime Minister ever, Thatcher served from May 4, 1979, until November 28, 1990, leading her Conservative government through an extremely volatile period of British political, social and economic history. An advocate of political and economic deregulation, flexible labour markets, the reduction of the power of trade unions and the privatisation of state-owned companies, she created many supporters of her policies that came to be known as "Thatcherism". However, Thatcher's decision to take on the trade unions and help bring about the collapse of traditional heavy industry and working-class professions in some of the most-deprived areas of the United Kingdom also led to her being hated by many. Yet, despite the fact Thatcher divides opinion like no other political figure, some facts about her remain largely unknown. For example, few people know that Thatcher adopted a diet containing 28 eggs a week shortly before taking office, that she refused the protection of 20 karate experts during a visit to Tokyo, or that her son was given a suspended jail sentence for attempting a coup d'état in Equatorial Guinea... Well, here are 20 mind-blowing facts about arguably Britain's most-controversial Prime Minister in history, Margaret Thatcher.