Their famously 'special' relationship defined a decade: Former UK prime minister Margaret Thatcher, the tough-talking grocer's daughter from Grantham and U.S President Ronald Reagan, the smooth California movie star-turned-politician.<br/> <br />Newly declassified files from the UK's 1982 archives offer fresh glimpses into their - sometimes strained - partnership, at a time when Britain was waging war with Argentina over the Falkland Islands or Las Malvinas.<br/> <br />In this letter, Thatcher, nicknamed the Iron Lady at home, tells Reagan "you are the only person who will understand … what I am trying to say."<br/> <br />Elsewhere, she stressed their special relationship as she requests Reagan's help, signing off with 'warm personal regards.'<br/> <br />But in other documents she describes the famously uncomplicated Reagan as 'vague' and knowing much less than he seems to."<br/> <br />The files provide particular insights into the first and only female British PM's feelings as the country went to war.<br/> <br />Despite losing several warships, the British eventually reclaimed the South Atlantic islands 74 days later - with help from the United States which the US insisted remain secret according to a letter in the files.<br/> <br />Marked 'secret' and 'confidential', the 6000 files also lift the curtain on Thatcher's political manouevring during other key events of 1982, including the Iran-Iraq war and the Israeli invasion of Lebanon.
