Thatcher died at London's Ritz hotel after suffering a stroke

Hoardings go up outside the home in Chester Square. Work is expected to finish next year.

President Barack Obama, who said that America 'has lost a true friend.'

The kind words came amid the revelation that Thatcher died in the luxury suite at the Ritz where she had spent months recuperating after an operation.

Britain's first and only female prime minister, who passed away peacefully at the age of 87 after suffering a massive stroke, had checked into the five star hotel at the start of the year following minor surgery on her bladder over Christmas.

While a close-knit circle of friends took it in turns to visit the increasingly frail 87-year-old at the Belgravia hotel - a long-time favorite of the former leader's - it was a solitary start to what would prove to be her final few months.

She had been due to spend Christmas Day with her niece Jane Mays, who lives in north east London, but was admitted to hospital five days earlier for minor surgery to remove a growth on her bladder.

Iron Lady: Baroness Thatcher, who died today, was pictured on a bench in Battersea Park, London with her carers and a police officer

Ritz: Media and police were gathered outside the five star Ritz Hotel in London today, where Baroness Thatcher died after suffering a massive stroke

Her daughter Carol Thatcher, 59, was understood to be at her side in the hospital at Christmas time.

After being discharged Baroness Thatcher was checked straight into a suite at the hotel in Belgravia amid concerns she would no longer be able to manage the stairs at her elegant four-story mansion.

Staff at the hotel had invited her to make the Ritz her home for the foreseeable future, and her carers are understood to have been taking it in turns to stay with the 87-year-old.

Her daughter Carol Thatcher, 59, was understood to be at her side in the hospital at Christmas time.

After being discharged Baroness Thatcher was checked straight into a suite at the hotel in Belgravia amid concerns she would no longer be able to manage the stairs at her elegant four-story mansion.

Staff at the hotel had invited her to make the Ritz her home for the foreseeable future, and her carers are understood to have been taking it in turns to stay with the 87-year-old.

Tributes: Notes and bouquets were piling up outside the former prime minister's home in London following the news of her death today

Baroness Thatcher died after suffering from a stroke - a condition which kills around 45,000 people every year in the UK - and is the third largest cause of death, after heart disease and cancer.

The risk of stroke rises significantly with age. And 40,000 of those who die each year are over the age of 75, according to the Stroke Association.

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     Baroness Thatcher’s Belgravia house is to go on the market for as much as £35 million when its developers finish a huge refurbishment, the Standard has learned.

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The Chester Square home of the former prime minister is being turned into a 7,000 sq ft house by joining it up with the mews property behind and digging under to create two basement floors.

Local agents say the “blue plaque effect” of the Thatcher connection could add millions of pounds to the amount a property trophy hunter from the US or the Middle East would be prepared pay.

“There is no other property that can boast it was the final family home of the Iron Lady,” said one surveyor.

A smaller neighbouring house on Chester Square — with five-bedroom suites, cinema, gym and steam room — recently went on the market for £25.5 million.

Work on Lady Thatcher’s former home, which became a local landmark because of its round-the-clock police guard, is not expected to be finished until next summer. But local agents say there have already been bids.

The house was sold after her death last year at the age of 87 to Leconfield Property Group, a discreet Belgravia developer and construction firm which is carrying out the renovations.

They paid only £4.16 million, according to Land Registry records, but the building is thought to have been on a short lease, although this is expected to be extended before they sell it on.

While it is thought the previous owner was the Thatcher estate, that has never been entirely clear, as the house was registered in the name of British Virgin Islands-based Bakeland Property Company. Intriguingly, the title deeds stipulate that it may not be sold without the consent of the previous owners.

Reports soon after Lady Thatcher’s death suggested the family may have legally saved millions of pounds in inheritance tax from the offshore property structure.

The Daily Mirror reported that although Lady Thatcher left a £4.7 million estate to be shared by her family, the Chester Square house was effectively outside the will because it was owned offshore. She and husband Sir Denis moved there after an ill-fated effort to live in East Dulwich, overlooking the course at Dulwich and Sydenham Golf Club.

While the golf appealed to Sir Denis, Lady Thatcher could not bear to be so far from Westminster.