Thatcher handbag sold for 25,000 pounds

A handbag belonging to Margaret Thatcher fetched 25,000 pounds when it went under the hammer, auctioned by Lord Archer, it was announced Tuesday. The Asprey bag, owned by the former prime minister for more than 30 years, was famously pictured in a photograph taken as she walked alongside then US president Ronald Reagan during her visit to the United States in 1985. The glossy black leather bag had been expected to attract up to 100,000 pounds, experts said. It was sold for a quarter of that price to an unnamed Cypriot understood to have been a student in Britain during the Iron Lady's tenure. A private buyer, he was said to be a "great admirer" of the former Conservative leader. The handbag was among a number of highly prized items sold at Christie's, in central London, by amateur auctioneer and author Lord Archer for charitable causes, Christie said. "The handbag makes you automatically think of Margaret Thatcher," Lord Archer said. Lady Thatcher's daughter Carol, who joined bidders in the packed sale room, said her mother had been "longing to know" how much the bag raised for her "carefully chosen" charities. "I hope that the highest bidder knows that if he's into handbagging, he's got a weapon with quite a track record. After all, my  mother invented the verb 'to handbag'," she added. The proceeds from the sale of Lady Thatcher's handbag will go to the British Forces Foundation, mental health charity Combat Stress, and Debra, an organisation dedicated to helping those with the genetic skin blistering condition epidermolysis bullosa.