Margaret Thatcher's Personal Items On Sale For £500,000 At Auction

Margaret Thatcher's (inset) family have put more than 300 of her personal items on sale in a double auction that is expected to fetch more than £500,000. The items include the Iron Lady's emerald, diamond and platinum necklace (centre) worth more than £120,000, her sewing box (bottom right), her red leather dispatch box (top right) and a pair of north African tunics known as kaftans (left). More than 200 lots went on sale yesterday in an online auction that will last until December 16. Hundreds more will go on display for a more traditional auction on December 15. Christie's say both sales are expected to generate around half a million pounds but insiders expect the final total to be far higher.