Former British PM Margaret Thatcher has died

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Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher has died, according to Sky TV.

She died this morning at age of 87 following a stroke according to her spokesman Lord Bell.

Britain's only woman prime minister, the tough, outspoken Thatcher led the Conservatives to three election victories, governing from 1979 to 1990, the longest continuous period in office by a British prime minister since the early 19th century.

"It was with great sadness that I learned of Lady Thatcher's death," Prime Minister David Cameron said. "We've lost a greatleader, a great Prime Minister and a great Briton."

Queen Elizabeth said she was sad to hear the news of Thatcher's death and sent a message of sympathy to her family.

"Her memory will live long after the world has forgotten the grey suits of today's politics," said London Mayor Boris Johnson.

Known as the "Iron Lady," Thatcher, embraced free market policies, challenged trade unions and privatised many state-owned companies during her 11 years in power, polarising British voters.

She led her country in a war with Argentina over the Falkland Islands in 1982, and was close to the late US President Ronald Reagan, was forced to step down by her own party in 1990.

A grocer's daughter with a steely resolve, she became loved and loathed in equal measure as she crushed the unions and privatised vast swathes of British industry.

The British government said Thatcher would have a ceremonial funeral with military honors at London's St Paul's Cathedral, which falls short of a full state funeral, in accordance with the wishes of her family.