Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was particular about her looks as her appointments diary for 1984 shows that she visited a hairdresser 120 times.
Thatcher, who was Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990 and died in 2013 at the age of 87, was as well known for her immaculately coiffed hair, sharp suits and trademark handbags as she was for her politics.
Previously unseen documents have shown just how far Thatcher went to maintain her iconic image.
An analysis of her appointments diary, released by the National Archives under the 30-year rule today, shows she had her hair styled 120 times in 1984, an average of once every three days.
The diary was maintained by a member of her staff while she was in office, The Telegraph reported. It details meetings with Ministers and heads of state as well as her visits to Rome, Moscow and Brussels, media interviews, cabinet briefings and photo calls.
The diary also gives a fascinating insight into Thatcher’s day-to-day life, including six visits to the dentist, and the occasional “swim” and “quiet” evenings with husband Denis.
Her hair appointments are simply written as “hair” and usually took place at 8.30 am or 9am. They more than likely involved styling using Carmen heated rollers. The brand, popular in the 1980s, was Thatcher’s favourite. Five of the sessions were on consecutive days in June when the coiffured Prime Minister hosted world leaders at an economic summit in London.
The diary also confirms her reputation as a workaholic who found it difficult to relax.
Thatcher has been voted the most successful post-war British Prime Minister by lawmakers in a survey in which Winston Churchill came a distant fourth. The survey was carried out by Politics and International Relations students at Royal Holloway, University of London.
The former Conservative leader was valued for her decisiveness by MPs who took part in the poll.
