Former Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher died in a suite at the Ritz after suffering a severe stroke.
Britain's first and only female political leader passed away peacefully aged 87, after battling poor health for more than a decade.
After a minor operation over Christmas, Baroness Thatcher had spent the past few months recuperating at the five-star hotel in central London.
The Iron Lady was given 24-hour care by nursing staff in her suite, after becoming too frail to stay in her Belgravia home.
The grocer's daughter, who became the longest serving British prime minister of the 20th century, will be honoured with a full ceremonial funeral at St Paul's Cathedral.
Not since Winston Churchill's death has a politician been granted such a tribute. Her spokesman Lord Bell said: 'It is with great sadness that Mark and Carol Thatcher announced that their mother Baroness Thatcher died peacefully following a stroke.