12 humanizing photos of 'Iron Lady' Margaret Thatcher

During her three-term tenure as Britain's first (and only) female prime minister, Margaret Thatcher whipped a "strike-infested" Britain into stronger economic shape and pushed the nation's political center of gravity dramatically to the right. And the tough-as-nails leader was known for battling her own party — which would eventually kick her out of power — just as much as her opposition. This no-nonsense approach to governing earned Thatcher, who died Monday morning at age 87, more than her fair share of less-than-flattering nicknames, including "Her Magggiesty," "Attila the Hen," and, of course, the "Iron Lady, which was given to her by a Soviet Army newspaper after she criticized Moscow for being bent on world domination.

But beneath Thatcher's steely and polarizing public persona was a grocer's daughter with a high voice and a sharp tongue, a woman who held onto a childhood love of poetry and science throughout her life. Here, a collection of images that capture this surprisingly playful "Maggie."

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