The famous astrologer Mystic Meg has died at the age of 80, it has been confirmed. The star, whose real name was Margaret Lake, was admitted to St Mary’s Hospital, Paddington in London last month while suffering from flu.
It was confirmed on Thursday (March 9) that she died at 3.45am this morning. Her agent of 34 years, Dave Shapland, told The Sun, where Lake's daily horoscopes were followed for 23 years by millions.: "Without any question, she was Britain’s most famous astrologer by a million miles.
"Nobody came close to Meg in that respect. She was followed by millions in this country and also around the world. She even became part of the English language – if a politician, somebody from showbiz or ordinary people in the street are asked a tricky question they will say ‘Who do you think I am, Mystic Meg?' It shows what an impact she made."
Piers Morgan is among those to have paid tribute, having worked with Lake while he was at News of the World. "Mystic Meg was Britain’s most famous astrologer and a fascinatingly mysterious lady who loved her work with a passion but was rarely seen or heard in public," the former Good Morning Britain host said.
"I was her editor at the News of the World for several years and she was extraordinarily professional in everything she did. A master of her very popular craft."
Lake was born in Accrington, Lancashire in July 1942 and first rose to fame with her astrology in 1994, when she appeared weekly on The National Lottery Live in Mystic Meg Predicts until 2000. The segment featured a 45-second reading, during which she attempted to predict facts about the future winner.
Later, she acquired her own regular astrology column in The Sun, and until its demise, the News of the World. She also hosted Mystic Meg’s Wheel of Destiny for Sun Bingo and her image appears on various astrology-related books and merchandise.
According to The Sun, Lake lived alone in a three-bedroom flat in London’s Notting Hill which she shared with seven cats that she said found her and moved in. She was five when she became close to her great-granny Howard, a Russian gypsy who fled from her homeland in 1888 with her prized possessions – a strange set of European Tarot cards and a crystal ball.
It wasn't long before Granny Howard realised Lake had the natural psychic talents of her Romany heritage and taught the youngster astrology and fortune telling. When she turned 21 she inherited her gran's crystal ball, which she used to tell the future for nearly 60 years.
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