The island of Madeira, known for being a prime tourist destination, has been visited by, among many other personalities, three British Prime Ministers over the decades: Winston Churchill, Margaret Thatcher and, now, Keir Starmer. Although each visit took place in different contexts, all three chose the ‘Pearl of the Atlantic’ to rest.
On the first day of 1950, Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom between 1940-1945 and between 1951-1955, disembarked from the Funchal pier, accompanied by his wife, Lady Clementine Hozier Spencer Churchill, Colonel William Deakin and two secretaries, staying at the Reid’s Palace Hotel (now Belmond Reid’s Palace).
While he was in Madeira, he devoted himself to painting in his free time, and the images captured at the Espírito Santo viewpoint, now called the Winston Churchill viewpoint, located at the entrance to Câmara de Lobos, are well-known.
He ended up leaving the island earlier than planned, on January 12, 1950, on board a seaplane from the English company ‘Aquila Airways’.
This was not, however, Churchill’s first visit to Madeira. The first took place in 1899, on board the ship ‘Dunottar Castle’, when he was heading to South Africa, where he would work as a war correspondent.
A year later, the famous ‘Iron Lady’, Margaret Thatcher, visited Madeira, long before she became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. In 1951, when Margaret and her husband, Denis Thatcher, got married, they came to Madeira for their honeymoon.
At the time, aged 24, the British woman arrived on board a seaplane and stayed at the Savoy Hotel.
Fifty years later, in 2001, she returned to the region to celebrate her 50th wedding anniversary, after having a political career as a member of parliament, minister, leader of the Conservative Party and also Prime Minister. The invitation to return to Madeira was extended by the management of the Savoy hotels, which was promptly accepted.
The then president of the Regional Government, Alberto João Jardim, received the couple at the airport.
They stayed until January 3rd, having spent New Year’s Eve in Madeira.
In honor of Lady Thatcher, the Royal Savoy named its lobby bar, which overlooks the ocean, after her.
The current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Keir Rodney Starmer, is in Madeira where he is expected to extend his stay until after New Year’s Eve.
The leader of the Labour Party is, as reported by DIÁRIO, in Madeira for a personal visit, with no official meetings with regional entities being planned.