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Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon

January 10, 2023

"Princess Margaret" redirects here. For other uses, see Princess Margaret (disambiguation).

Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, CI, GCVO, GCStJ, CD (Margaret Rose; 21 August 1930 – 9 February 2002) was the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, and the younger sister and only sibling of Queen Elizabeth II.

Princess Margaret
Countess of Snowdon (more)
Margaret in 1965
BornPrincess Margaret Rose of York
(1930-08-21)21 August 1930
Glamis Castle, Angus, Scotland
Died9 February 2002(2002-02-09) (aged 71)
King Edward VII's Hospital, London, England
Burial15 February 2002
Ashes placed in the Royal Vault, St George's Chapel;
9 April 2002
Ashes interred in the King George VI Memorial Chapel, St George's Chapel
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1960; div. 1978)​
Issue
HouseWindsor
FatherGeorge VI
MotherElizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Signature

Margaret was born when her parents were the Duke and Duchess of York, and she spent much of her childhood with them and her elder sister. Her life changed at the age of six, when her father ascended the British throne following the abdication of his brother Edward VIII. Margaret's sister became heir presumptive, with Margaret second in line to the throne. Her position in the line of succession diminished over the following decades as Elizabeth's children and grandchildren were born. During the Second World War, the two sisters stayed at Windsor Castle despite suggestions to evacuate them to Canada. During the war years, Margaret was too young to perform official duties and continued her education, being nine years old when the war broke out and turning fifteen just after hostilities ended.

From the 1950s onwards, Margaret became one of the world's most celebrated socialites, famed for her glamorous lifestyle and reputed romances. Most famously, she fell in love in the early 1950s with Peter Townsend, a married RAF officer in the royal household. In 1952, her father died, her sister became queen, and Townsend divorced his wife. He proposed to Margaret early in the following year. Many in the government believed that he would be an unsuitable husband for the Queen's 22-year-old sister, and the Archbishop of Canterbury refused to countenance her marriage to a divorced man.[1] Margaret abandoned her plans with Townsend and married Antony Armstrong-Jones in 1960; the Queen created him Earl of Snowdon. The couple had two children, David and Sarah, and divorced in 1978. Margaret did not remarry.

Margaret was a controversial member of the British royal family. Her divorce received much negative publicity, and her private life was for many years the subject of speculation by media and royal watchers. Her health deteriorated in the last twenty years of her life. She was a heavy smoker for most of her adult life and had a lung operation in 1985, a bout of pneumonia in 1993 as well as three strokes between 1998 and 2001. Margaret died in February 2002 aged 71, after suffering her fourth stroke.

Early life

Princess Margaret was born at 9:22 p.m. on 21 August 1930 at Glamis Castle in Scotland,[2] her mother's ancestral home,[3] and was affectionately known as Margot within the royal family.[4] She was the first member of the royal family in direct line of succession to be born in Scotland since the 1600s.[5] She was delivered by Sir Henry Simson, the royal obstetrician.[6] The Home Secretary, J. R. Clynes, was present to verify the birth. The registration of her birth was delayed for several days to avoid her being numbered thirteen in the parish register.[7] Margaret was baptised in the private chapel of Buckingham Palace on 30 October 1930 by Cosmo Lang, the Archbishop of Canterbury.[9]

At the time of her birth, Margaret was fourth in the line of succession to the British throne. Her father was the Duke of York (later King George VI), the second son of King George V and Queen Mary. Her mother was the Duchess of York (later Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother), the youngest daughter of the 14th Earl and the Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne. The Duchess of York originally wanted to name her second daughter Ann Margaret, as she explained to Queen Mary in a letter: "I am very anxious to call her Ann Margaret, as I think Ann of York sounds pretty, & Elizabeth and Ann go so well together."[10] King George V disliked the name Ann but approved of the alternative, Margaret Rose.[11]

Margaret's early life was spent primarily at the Yorks' residences at 145 Piccadilly (their town house in London) and Royal Lodge in Windsor.[12] The Yorks were perceived by the public as an ideal family: father, mother and children,[13] but unfounded rumours that Margaret was deaf and mute were not completely dispelled until her first main public appearance at her uncle Prince George's wedding in 1934.[14]

 
Margaret (front) with her grandmother Mary and sister Elizabeth, May 1939

Margaret was educated alongside her sister, Elizabeth, by their Scottish governess, Marion Crawford. Margaret's education was mainly supervised by her mother, who in the words of Randolph Churchill "never aimed at bringing her daughters up to be more than nicely behaved young ladies".[15] When Queen Mary insisted upon the importance of education, the Duchess of York commented, "I don't know what she meant. After all I and my sisters only had governesses and we all married well — one of us very well".[16] Margaret was resentful about her limited education, especially in later years, and aimed criticism at her mother.[16] However, Margaret's mother told a friend that she "regretted" that her daughters did not go to school like other children,[17] and the employment of a governess rather than sending the girls to school may have been done only at the insistence of King George V.[18] J. M. Barrie, author of Peter Pan, read stories to the sisters as children.[19]

Margaret's grandfather, George V, died when she was five, and her uncle acceded to the throne as King Edward VIII. Less than a year later, on 11 December 1936, in the abdication crisis, he left the throne to marry Wallis Simpson, a twice-divorced American, whom neither the Church of England nor the Dominion governments would accept as queen. The Church did not recognise the marriage of a divorced woman with a living ex-husband as valid. Edward's abdication made a reluctant Duke of York the new king, and Margaret became second in line to the throne, with the title The Princess Margaret to indicate her status as a child of the sovereign.[20] The family moved into Buckingham Palace; Margaret's room overlooked The Mall.[21]

 
Elizabeth and Margaret performing at Windsor Castle in a 1943 production of the pantomime Aladdin

Margaret was a Brownie in the 1st Buckingham Palace Brownie Pack, formed in 1937. She was also a Girl Guide and later a Sea Ranger. She served as President of Girlguiding UK from 1965 until her death on February 9, 2002.[22][23]

At the outbreak of World War II, Margaret and her sister were at Birkhall, on the Balmoral Castle estate, where they stayed until Christmas 1939, enduring nights so cold that drinking water in carafes by their bedside froze.[24] They spent Christmas at Sandringham House before moving to Windsor Castle, just outside London, for much of the remainder of the war.[25] Viscount Hailsham wrote to Prime Minister Winston Churchill to advise the evacuation of the princesses to the greater safety of Canada,[26] to which their mother famously replied, "The children won't go without me. I won't leave without the King. And the King will never leave."[27] At Windsor, the princesses staged pantomimes at Christmas in aid of the Queen's Wool Fund, which bought yarn to knit into military garments.[28] In 1940, Margaret sat next to Elizabeth during their radio broadcast for the BBC's Children's Hour, addressing other children who had been evacuated from cities.[29] Margaret spoke at the end by wishing all the children goodnight.[29]

Unlike other members of the royal family, Margaret was not expected to undertake any public or official duties during the war. She developed her skills at singing and playing the piano,[30] often show tunes from stage musicals.[31] Her contemporaries thought she was spoiled by her parents, especially her father,[32] who allowed her to take liberties not usually permissible, such as being allowed to stay up to dinner at the age of thirteen.[16]

Crawford despaired at the attention Margaret was getting, writing to friends: "Could you this year only ask Princess Elizabeth to your party? ... Princess Margaret does draw all the attention and Princess Elizabeth lets her do that." Elizabeth, however, did not mind this, and commented, "Oh, it's so much easier when Margaret's there—everybody laughs at what Margaret says".[16] King George described Elizabeth as his pride and Margaret as his joy.[33]

Post-war years

 
Margaret (far right) on the balcony of Buckingham Palace with her family and Winston Churchill on 8 May 1945

At the end of the war in 1945, Margaret appeared on the balcony at Buckingham Palace with her family and Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Afterwards, both Elizabeth and Margaret joined the crowds outside the palace, incognito, chanting, "We want the King, we want the Queen!"[34]

On 15 April 1946, Margaret was confirmed into the Church of England.[35] On 1 February 1947, she, Elizabeth and their parents embarked on a state tour of Southern Africa. The three-month-long visit was Margaret's first visit abroad, and she later claimed that she remembered "every minute of it".[36] Margaret's chaperone was Peter Townsend, the King's equerry[37] and very firm toward Margaret, whom he apparently considered an indulged child.[38] Later that year, Margaret was a bridesmaid at Elizabeth's wedding. In the next three years, Elizabeth had two children, Charles and Anne, whose births moved Margaret further down the line of succession.[39]

In 1950, the former royal governess, Marion Crawford, published an unauthorized biography of Elizabeth's and Margaret's childhood years, titled The Little Princesses, in which she described Margaret's "light-hearted fun and frolics"[40] and her "amusing and outrageous ... antics".[41]

The Margaret Set

Around the time of Princess Elizabeth's wedding in November 1947, the press started to follow the social life of "unconventional" Margaret and her reputation for vivacity and wit.[42] As a beautiful young woman, with an 18-inch waist and "vivid blue eyes",[43] Margaret enjoyed socialising with high society and young aristocrats, including Sharman Douglas, the daughter of the American ambassador, Lewis Williams Douglas.[44] A celebrated beauty known for her glamour and fashion sense, Margaret was often featured in the press at balls, parties, and nightclubs[45] with friends who became known as the "Margaret Set".[46] The number of her official engagements increased (they included a tour of Italy, Switzerland, and France), and she joined a growing number of charitable organisations as president or patron.[47]

 
Margaret in Amsterdam, Netherlands in 1948

Favoured haunts of the Margaret Set were The 400 Club, the Café de Paris and the Mirabelle restaurant.[48] Anticipation of an engagement or romance between Margaret and a member of her set were often reported. In 1948, international news grew that her engagement to "Sunny", the Marquess of Blandford, would be announced on her 18th birthday.[49] Similar speculation moved to the Hon. Peter Ward, then Billy Wallace and others. The set also mixed with celebrities, including Danny Kaye, whom she met after watching him perform at the London Palladium in February 1948.[50] He was soon accepted by the royal social circle.[51] In July 1949, at a fancy dress ball at the American Ambassador's residence, Margaret performed the can-can on stage, accompanied by Douglas and ten other costumed girls. A press commotion ensued, with Kaye denying he had taught Margaret the dance.[52] Press interest could be intrusive. During a private visit to Paris in 1951, Margaret and Prince Nicholas of Yugoslavia were followed into a nightclub by a paparazzo who took photographs of them until British detectives physically removed him from the club.[53]

In 1952, although Margaret attended parties and debutante balls with friends such as Douglas and Mark Bonham Carter, the set were seen infrequently together.[54] They regrouped in time for Coronation season social functions. In May 1953, Margaret met singer Eddie Fisher when he performed at the Red, White and Blue Ball. She asked him to her table and he was "invited to all sorts of parties".[55] Margaret fell out with him in 1957, but years later, Fisher still claimed the night he was introduced to her was the greatest thrill of his lifetime.[56] In June 1954, the Set performed the Edgar Wallace play The Frog at the Scala Theatre. It was organized by Margaret's by now best girlfriend Judy Montagu with Margaret as Assistant Director. It drew praise for raising £10,500 for charity, but criticism for incompetent performances.[57] By the mid 1950s, although still seen at fashionable nightspots and theatre premieres, the set was depleted by its members getting married. As she reached her late twenties unmarried, the press increasingly turned from predicting whom she might marry to suspecting she would remain a spinster.[58]

'Romances' and the press (1947–1959)

The press avidly discussed "the world's most eligible bachelor-girl"[59] and her alleged romances with more than 30 bachelors,[60][61] including David Mountbatten and Michael I of Romania,[62] Dominic Elliot,[63] Colin Tennant (later Baron Glenconner),[64] Prince Henry of Hesse-Kassel, and future Prime Minister of Canada John Turner.[65][66] Most had titles and almost all were wealthy. Blandford and Lord Dalkeith, both wealthy sons of dukes, were the likeliest potential husbands. Her family reportedly hoped that Margaret would marry Dalkeith, but, unlike him, the princess was uninterested in the outdoors.[61][67] Billy Wallace, sole heir to a £2.8 million (£78 million today) fortune and an old friend, was reportedly Margaret's favourite date during the mid-1950s.[59][68] During her 21st birthday party at Balmoral in August 1951,[69] the press was disappointed to only photograph Margaret with Townsend,[60] always in the background of pictures of royal appearances,[70][61] and to her parents a safe companion as Elizabeth's duties increased.[61] The following month her father underwent surgery for lung cancer, and Margaret was appointed one of the Counsellors of State who undertook the King's official duties while he was incapacitated.[71] Her father died five months later, on 6 February 1952, and her sister became Queen.

Romance with Peter Townsend

Early relationship

During the war, the King suggested choosing palace aides who were highly qualified men from the military, instead of only aristocrats. Told that a handsome war hero had arrived,[46] the princesses met Townsend, the new equerry, on his first day at Buckingham Palace in 1944; Elizabeth reportedly told her sister, 13 years old, "Bad luck, he's married".[72] A temporary assignment of three months from the RAF became permanent. The King and Queen were fond of Townsend; the King reportedly saw the calm and efficient combat veteran as the son he never had.[73][72][61] He may have been aware of his daughter's infatuation with the non-titled and non-wealthy Townsend, reportedly seeing the courtier reluctantly obey the princess's order to carry her up palace stairs after a party.[61]

Townsend was so often near Margaret that gossip columnists overlooked him as a suitor for the princess.[70] When their relationship began is unclear. The princess told friends she fell in love with the equerry during the 1947 South Africa tour, where they often went riding together.[74] Her biographer Craig Brown stated that, according to a National Trust curator, Townsend requested the bedroom next to hers during a trip to Belfast in October 1947.[75] In November 1948, they attended the inauguration of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands. In later life, Townsend admitted at this point there was an attraction between them, but neither of them ever acknowledged it to one another. Not long after he discovered his wife Rosemary was involved in an extramarital affair, which ended.[76] Contemporary anecdotes about their closeness then dissipated until late 1950, when friendship seems to have rekindled, coinciding with Townsend's appointment as Deputy Master of the Household and the breakdown of his marriage.[77]

From the spring of 1951 came several testimonies of a growing romantic attraction. A footman told how the King diverted the pair's picnic plans, adding that whatever the King and Queen knew about the developing relationship, few royal staff failed to notice as it was obvious to them.[78] Townsend said that his love for her began in Balmoral in 1951, and recalled an incident there in August when the princess woke him from a nap after a picnic lunch while the King watched, to suggest the King knew.[79] Townsend and his wife separated in 1951,[80] which was noticed by the press by July.[81]

Margaret was grief-stricken by her father's death and was prescribed sedatives to help her sleep.[82] Of her father she wrote, "He was such a wonderful person, the very heart and centre of our happy family."[83] She was consoled by her deeply held Christian beliefs,[84] sometimes attending church twice daily.[61] She re-emerged attending events with her family in April and returned to public duties and the social scene when official mourning ended in June. American newspapers noted her increasing vitality and speculated that she must be in love.[85] With the widowed Queen Mother, Margaret moved out of Buckingham Palace and into Clarence House in May 1953, while her older sister, now Queen, and her family moved out of Clarence House and into Buckingham Palace.[86] After the king's death, Townsend was appointed Comptroller of Margaret's mother's restructured household.[87]

In June 1952, the estranged Townsends hosted Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip and Princess Margaret at a cocktail party at their home.[88][89] A month later, Rosemary Townsend and her new partner John de László attended judging at the Royal Windsor Horse Show.[90] It is thought the romance between Margaret and Townsend began around this time.[91] The first reports that Townsend and Margaret wished to marry began in August 1952,[92] but these remained uncommon. The Townsend divorce in November was mentioned little in Britain and in greater detail abroad.[93] After the divorce was finalized in December 1952, however, rumours spread about him and Margaret;[61] the divorce, and shared grief over the death of the king in February 1952, likely helped them come together[72] within the privacy of Clarence House, where the princess had her own apartment.[74]

Marriage proposal

Private Secretary to the Queen Sir Alan Lascelles wrote that Townsend came to tell him he had asked Margaret to marry him shortly before Christmas 1952.[94] Other sources claim it occurred in April 1953.[60] He was 15 years her senior and had two children from his previous marriage. Margaret accepted and informed her sister, the Queen, whose consent was required by the Royal Marriages Act 1772. During the abdication crisis, the Church of England refused to countenance the remarriage of the divorced. Queen Mary had recently died, and, after the coronation of Elizabeth II, the new queen planned to tour the Commonwealth for six months. She told her sister, "Under the circumstances, it isn't unreasonable for me to ask you to wait a year",[95] and to keep the relationship secret until after the coronation.[73]

Although foreign media speculated on Margaret and Townsend's relationship, the British press did not. After reporters saw her plucking fluff from his coat during the coronation on 2 June 1953—"I never thought a thing about it, and neither did Margaret", Townsend later said; "After that the storm broke"[60][74]—The People first mentioned the relationship in Britain[96] on 14 June. With the headline "They Must Deny it NOW",[79] the front-page article warned that "scandalous rumours about Princess Margaret are racing around the world", which the newspaper stated were "of course, utterly untrue".[46][97] The foreign press believed that the Regency Act 1953—which made Prince Philip, the Queen's husband, regent instead of Margaret on the Queen's death—was enacted to allow the princess to marry Townsend, but as late as 23 July most other British newspapers except the Daily Mirror did not discuss the rumours. Acting Prime Minister Rab Butler asked that "deplorable speculation" end, without mentioning Margaret or Townsend.[70][98]

The constitutional crisis that the proposed marriage caused was public.[73] The Queen was advised by Lascelles to post Townsend abroad, but she refused and instead transferred him from the Queen Mother's household to her own,[99] although Townsend did not accompany Margaret as planned on a tour of Southern Rhodesia.[61] Prime Minister Churchill personally approved of "a lovely young royal lady married to a gallant young airman" but his wife reminded Churchill that he had made the same mistake during the abdication crisis.[100][96] His cabinet refused to approve the marriage,[101] and Geoffrey Fisher, Archbishop of Canterbury, did not approve of Margaret marrying a divorced man; opponents said that the marriage would threaten the monarchy as Edward VIII's had.[61] The Church of England Newspaper said that Margaret "is a dutiful churchwoman who knows what strong views leaders of the church hold in this matter", but the Sunday Express—which had supported Edward and Wallis—asked, "IF THEY WANT TO MARRY, WHY SHOULDN'T THEY?".[70]

Churchill discussed the marriage at the 1953 Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference held with the coronation; the Statute of Westminster 1931 requires Dominion parliaments to also approve any Bill of Renunciation changing the line of succession. The Canadian government stated that altering the line twice in 25 years would harm the monarchy.[67] Churchill informed the Queen that both his cabinet and Dominion prime ministers were against the marriage, and that Parliament would not approve a marriage that would be unrecognized by the Church of England unless Margaret renounced her rights to the throne.[102][100]

Prince Philip was reportedly the most opposed to Townsend in the royal family, while Margaret's mother and sister wanted her to be happy but could not approve of the marriage. Besides Townsend's divorce, two major problems were financial and constitutional. Margaret did not possess her sister's large fortune and would need the £6,000 annual civil list allowance and £15,000 additional allowance Parliament had provided for her upon a suitable marriage. She did not object to being removed from the line of succession to the throne as the Queen and all her children dying was unlikely, but receiving parliamentary approval for the marriage would be difficult and uncertain.[61][38] At the age of 25 Margaret would not need Elizabeth's permission under the 1772 Act;[103] she could, after notifying the Privy Council of the United Kingdom, marry in one year if Parliament did not prevent her. If Churchill told the Queen, however, one could easily leave the line of succession, another could easily enter the line, dangerous for a hereditary monarchy.[67]

The Queen told the couple to wait until 1955, when Margaret would be 25,[103] avoiding the Queen having to publicly disapprove of her sister's marriage.[61] Lascelles—who compared Townsend to Theudas "boasting himself to be somebody"—hoped that separating him and Margaret would end their romance.[104] Churchill arranged for Townsend's assignment as air attaché at the British Embassy in Brussels; he was sent on 15 July 1953, before Margaret's return from Rhodesia on 30 July.[100] The assignment was so sudden that the British ambassador learned about it from a newspaper. Although the princess and Townsend knew about his new job, they had reportedly been promised a few days together before his departure.[67]

Press coverage

For two years, press speculation continued. In Brussels, Townsend only said that "The word must come from somebody else". He avoided parties and being seen with women. With few duties (the sinecure was abolished after him), Townsend improved his French and horsemanship. He joined a Belgian show jumping club and rode in races around Europe.[67] Margaret was told by the Church that she would be unable to receive communion if she married a divorced man.[105] Three quarters of Sunday Express readers opposed the relationship, and Mass-Observation recorded criticism of the "silly little fool" as a poor example for young women who emulated her.[79] Other newspaper polls showed popular support for Margaret's personal choice, regardless of Church teaching or government.[106] Ninety-seven per cent of Daily Mirror readers supported marriage, and a Daily Express editorial stated that even if the Archbishop of Canterbury was displeased, "she would best please the vast majority of ordinary folk [by finding] happiness for herself".[61][67]

The couple were not restricted on communicating by mail and telephone.[61][67] Margaret worked with friends on charity productions of Lord and Lady Algy and The Frog, and publicly dated men such as Tennant[46] and Wallace.[59] In January 1955, she made the first of many trips to the Caribbean, perhaps to distract, and as a reward for being apart, from Townsend. The attaché secretly travelled to Britain; while the palace was aware of one visit, he reportedly made other trips for nights and weekends with the princess at Clarence House—her apartment had its own front door—and friends' homes.[46][61]

 
Margaret greeting schoolchildren at the opening of The Princess Margaret School in Barbados, 9 February 1955

That spring Townsend for the first time spoke to the press: "I am sick of being made to hide in my apartment like a thief", but whether he could marry "involves more people than myself". He reportedly believed that his exile from Margaret would soon end,[67] their love was strong, and that the British people would support marrying.[61] Townsend received a bodyguard and police guard around his apartment after the Belgian government received threats on his life,[67] but the British government still said nothing. Stating that people were more interested in the couple than the recent 1955 United Kingdom general election, on 29 May the Daily Express published an editorial demanding that Buckingham Palace confirm or deny the rumours.[107]

The press described Margaret's 25th birthday, 21 August 1955, as the day she was free to marry,[67] and expected an announcement about Townsend soon. Three hundred journalists waited outside Balmoral, four times as many as those later following Diana, Princess of Wales.[46] "COME ON MARGARET!", the Daily Mirror's front page said two days earlier, asking her to "please make up your mind!".[61][108] On 12 October Townsend returned from Brussels as Margaret's suitor. The royal family devised a system in which it did not host Townsend, but he and Margaret formally courted each other at dinner parties hosted by friends[67] such as Mark Bonham Carter.[109][110] A Gallup poll found that 59% of Britons approved of their marrying, with 17% opposed.[108][79] Women in the East End of London shouted "Go on, Marg, do what you want" at the princess.[96] Although the couple was never seen together in public during this time,[97] the general consensus was that they would marry. Crowds waited outside Clarence House, and a global audience read daily updates and rumours on newspaper front pages.[108][109][111][112][113]

"Nothing much else than Princess Margaret's affairs is being talked of in this country", The Manchester Guardian said on 15 October. "NOW – THE NATION WAITS" was a typical headline.[108] Observers interpreted Buckingham Palace's request to the press to respect Margaret's privacy—the first time the palace discussed the princess's recent personal life—as evidence of an imminent betrothal announcement,[112][67][114] probably before the Opening of Parliament on 25 October.[111] As no announcement occurred—the Daily Mirror on 17 October showed a photograph of Margaret's left hand with the headline "NO RING YET!"[108]—the press wondered why. Parliamentarians "are frankly puzzled by the way the affair has been handled", the News Chronicle wrote. "If a marriage is on, they ask, why not announce it quickly? If there is to be no marriage, why allow the couple to continue to meet without a clear denial of the rumours?"[109]

Why a betrothal did not occur is unclear. Margaret may have been uncertain of her desire, having written to Prime Minister Anthony Eden in August that "It is only by seeing him in this way that I feel I can properly decide whether I can marry him or not".[103] Margaret may have told Townsend as early as 12 October that governmental and familial opposition to their marriage had not changed; it is possible that neither they nor the Queen fully understood until that year how difficult the 1772 Act made a royal marriage without the monarch's permission.[46] An influential 26 October editorial in The Times stating that "The QUEEN's sister married to a divorced man (even though the innocent party) would be irrevocably disqualified from playing her part in the essential royal function" represented The Establishment's view of what it considered a possibly dangerous crisis.[108][97] It convinced many, who had believed that the media were exaggerating, that the princess really might defy the Church and royal standards. Leslie Weatherhead, President of the Methodist Conference, now criticized the proposed marriage.[101]

Townsend recalled that "we felt mute and numbed at the centre of this maelstrom";[79] the Queen also wanted the media circus to end.[72] Townsend only had his RAF income and, other than a talent for writing, had no experience in other work.[67] He wrote in his autobiography that the princess "could have married me only if she had been prepared to give up everything -- her position, her prestige, her privy purse. I simply hadn't the weight, I knew it, to counterbalance all she would have lost"[114] for what Kenneth Rose described as "life in a cottage on a Group Captain's salary".[72] Royal historian Hugo Vickers wrote that "Lascelles's separation plan had worked and the love between them had died".[104] Margaret's authorized biographer Christopher Warwick said that "having spent two years apart, they were no longer as in love as they had been. Townsend was not the love of her life – the love of her life was her father, King George VI, whom she adored".[31]

More than 100 journalists waited at Balmoral when Eden arrived to discuss the marriage with the Queen and Margaret on 1 October 1955.[67] Lord Kilmuir, the Lord Chancellor, that month prepared a secret government document on the proposed marriage.[61][46] According to a 1958 biography of Townsend by Norman Barrymaine and other accounts, Eden said that his government would oppose in Parliament Margaret retaining her royal status. Parliament might pass resolutions opposing the marriage, which the people would see as a disagreement between government and monarchy; Lord Salisbury, a High Anglican, might resign from the government rather than help pass a Bill of Renunciation. While the government could not prevent the marriage when Margaret became a private individual after a Bill of Renunciation, she would no longer be a Counsellor of State and would lose her civil list allowance; otherwise, taxpayers would subsidise a divorced man and the princess's new stepsons. The Church would consider any children from the marriage to be illegitimate. Eden recommended that, like Edward VIII and Wallis, Margaret and Townsend leave Britain[67][72] for several years.[46][97][114]

Papers released in 2004 to the National Archives disagree. They show that the Queen and Eden (who had been divorced and remarried himself) planned to amend the 1772 Act. Margaret would have been able to marry Townsend by removing her and any children from the marriage from the line of succession, and thus the Queen's permission would no longer be necessary. Margaret would be allowed to keep her royal title and her allowance, stay in the country, and even continue with her public duties. Eden described the Queen's attitude in a letter on the subject to the Commonwealth prime ministers as "Her Majesty would not wish to stand in the way of her sister's happiness". Eden himself was sympathetic; "Exclusion from the Succession would not entail any other change in Princess Margaret's position as a member of the Royal Family", he wrote.[103]

In the 28 October 1955 final draft of the plan, Margaret would announce that she would marry Townsend and leave the line of succession. As prearranged by Eden, the Queen would consult with the British and Commonwealth governments, and then ask them to amend the 1772 Act. Eden would have told Parliament that it was "out of harmony with modern conditions"; Kilmuir estimated that 75% of Britons would approve of allowing the marriage. He advised Eden that the 1772 Act was flawed and might not apply to Margaret anyway.[103] The decision not to marry was made on 24th October and for the following week, Margaret was in disputes about the release and wording of her statement, which was released on the 31st.[115] It is unverified what or when she was told about proposals, drafted on the 28th, four days after the decision was made. By the early 1980s she was still protesting to biographers that the couple had been given false hope marriage was possible and she would have ended the relationship sooner had she been informed otherwise.[116][117]

The Daily Mirror on 28 October discussed The Times's editorial with the headline "THIS CRUEL PLAN MUST BE EXPOSED". Although Margaret and Townsend had read the editorial the newspaper denounced as from "a dusty world and a forgotten age", they had earlier made their decision and written an announcement.[97][101]

End of relationship

On 31 October 1955, Margaret issued a statement:

I would like it to be known that I have decided not to marry Group Captain Peter Townsend. I have been aware that, subject to my renouncing my rights of succession, it might have been possible for me to contract a civil marriage. But mindful of the Church's teachings that Christian marriage is indissoluble, and conscious of my duty to the Commonwealth, I have resolved to put these considerations before others. I have reached this decision entirely alone, and in doing so I have been strengthened by the unfailing support and devotion of Group Captain Townsend.[118]

"Thoroughly drained, thoroughly demoralized", Margaret later said,[60] she and Townsend wrote the statement together. She refused when Oliver Dawnay, the Queen Mother's private secretary, asked to remove the word "devotion".[67][46] The written statement, signed "Margaret", was the first official confirmation of the relationship. Some Britons were disbelieving or angry while others, including clergy, were proud of the princess for choosing duty and faith;[113] newspapers were evenly divided on the decision. Mass-Observation recorded indifference or criticism of the couple among men, but great interest among women, whether for or against. Kenneth Tynan, John Minton, Ronald Searle, and others signed an open letter from "the younger generation". Published in the Daily Express on 4 November, the letter said that the end of the relationship had exposed The Establishment and "our national hypocrisy".[108]

Townsend recalled that "We had reached the end of the road, our feelings for one another were unchanged, but they had incurred for us a burden so great that we decided together to lay it down".[60] The Associated Press said that Margaret's statement was almost "a rededication of her life to the duties of royalty, making unlikely any marriage for her in the near future";[113] the princess may have expected to never marry after the long relationship ended, because most of her eligible male friends were no longer bachelors.[119] Barrymaine agreed that Margaret intended the statement to mean that she would never marry, but wrote that Townsend likely did not accept any such vow to him by the princess, and his subsequent departure from Britain for two years was to not interfere with her life.[67] "We both had a feeling of unimaginable relief. We were liberated at last from this monstrous problem", Townsend said.[79]

After resigning from the RAF and travelling around the world for 18 months Townsend returned in March 1958; he and Margaret met several times, but could not avoid the press ("TOGETHER AGAIN") or royal disapproval. Townsend again left Britain to write a book about his trip; Barrymaine concluded in 1958 that "none of the fundamental obstacles to their marriage has been overcome – or shows any prospects of being overcome".[67][46] Townsend said during a 1970 book tour that he and Margaret did not correspond and they had not seen each other since a "friendly" 1958 meeting, "just like I think a lot of people never see their old girl friends".[120] Their love letters are in the Royal Archives and will not be available to the public until 100 years after Margaret's birth, February 2030.[60] These are unlikely to include Margaret's letters. In 1959, she wrote to Townsend in response to him informing her of his remarriage plans, accusing him of betraying their vow not to marry anyone else and requesting her love letters to him be destroyed.[121] He claimed he complied with her wishes, but kept this letter and an envelope of burned shards of the vow she had sent, eventually destroying these also. He was apparently unaware Margaret had already broken the pact by her engagement to Billy Wallace as it wasn't revealed until many years later.[122]

In October 1993, a friend of Margaret revealed she had met Townsend for what turned out to be the last time before his death in 1995. She hadn't wanted to attend the reunion they'd both been invited to, in 1992, for fear it might be picked up by the press, so she asked to see him privately instead.[123] Margaret said that he looked "exactly the same, except he had grey hair".[60] Guests said he hadn't really changed, and that they just sat chatting like old friends. They also found him disgruntled and had convinced himself that in agreeing to part, he and Margaret had set a noble example which seemed to have been in vain.[124]

Marriage to Antony Armstrong-Jones

 
A ticket for the wedding procession

Billy Wallace later said that "The thing with Townsend was a girlish nonsense that got out of hand. It was never the big thing on her part that people claim". Margaret accepted one of Wallace's many proposals to marry in 1956, but the engagement ended before an official announcement when he admitted to a romance in the Bahamas; "I had my chance and blew it with my big mouth", Wallace said.[60] Margaret did not reveal this publicly until an interview and subsequent biography with Nigel Dempster in 1977.[125]

Margaret met the photographer Antony Armstrong-Jones at a supper party in 1958.[126] They became engaged in October 1959.[127] Armstrong-Jones proposed to Margaret with a ruby engagement ring surrounded by diamonds in the shape of a rosebud.[128][129] She reportedly accepted his proposal a day after learning from Townsend that he intended to marry a young Belgian woman,[60] Marie-Luce Jamagne, who was half his age and greatly resembled Margaret.[130][114] Margaret's announcement of her engagement, on 26 February 1960, surprised the press, as she had concealed the romance from reporters.[131]

Margaret married Armstrong-Jones at Westminster Abbey on 6 May 1960.[132] The ceremony was the first royal wedding to be broadcast on television,[60] and it attracted viewing figures of 300 million worldwide.[133] 2,000 guests were invited for the wedding ceremony.[126] Margaret's wedding dress was designed by Norman Hartnell and worn with the Poltimore tiara.[35] She had eight young bridesmaids, led by her niece, Princess Anne.[134] The Duke of Edinburgh escorted the bride, and the best man was Dr Roger Gilliatt.[126] The Archbishop of Canterbury Geoffrey Fisher conducted the marriage service.[126] Following the ceremony, the couple made the traditional appearance on the balcony of Buckingham Palace.[126] The honeymoon was a six-week Caribbean cruise aboard the royal yacht Britannia.[135] As a wedding present, Colin Tennant gave her a plot of land on his private Caribbean island, Mustique.[136] The newlyweds moved into rooms in Kensington Palace.[137]

In 1961, Margaret's husband was created Earl of Snowdon. The couple had two children (both born by Caesarean section at Margaret's request):[138] David, born 3 November 1961, and Sarah, born 1 May 1964.[96] The marriage widened Margaret's social circle beyond the Court and aristocracy to include show business celebrities and bohemians. At the time, it was thought to reflect the breaking down of British class barriers.[139] The Snowdons experimented with the styles and fashions of the 1960s.[140]

Separation and divorce

Both parties in the marriage regularly engaged in extra-marital relationships. Antony had a series of affairs, including with long-term mistress, Ann Hills, and Lady Jacqueline Rufus-Isaacs, daughter of the 3rd Marquess of Reading. Anne De Courcy’s 2008 biography summarises the situation with a quote from a close friend: "If it moves, he'll have it."[141]

Reportedly, Margaret had her first extramarital affair in 1966, with her daughter's godfather Anthony Barton, a Bordeaux wine producer.[142][60] A year later she had a one-month liaison with Robin Douglas-Home, a nephew of former British Prime Minister Alec Douglas-Home.[143][60] Margaret claimed that her relationship with Douglas-Home was platonic, but her letters to him (which were later sold) were intimate.[144] Douglas-Home, who suffered from depression, died by suicide 18 months after the split with Margaret.[60] Claims that she was romantically involved with musician Mick Jagger,[145] actor Peter Sellers, and Australian cricketer Keith Miller are unproven.[146] According to biographer Charlotte Breese, entertainer Leslie Hutchinson had a "brief liaison" with Margaret in 1955.[147] A 2009 biography of actor David Niven included assertions, based on information from Niven's widow and a good friend of Niven's, that he had had an affair with the princess, who was 20 years his junior.[148] In 1975, the Princess was listed among women with whom actor Warren Beatty had had romantic relationships.[149] John Bindon, an actor from Fulham, who had spent time in prison, sold his story to the Daily Mirror, boasting of a close relationship with Margaret.[150]

 
Princess Margaret, Lord Snowdon and mayor of Amsterdam Gijs van Hall on 14 May 1965

Beyond extra-marital relationships, the marriage was accompanied by drugs, alcohol, and bizarre behaviour by both parties, such as his leaving lists of "things I hate about you" for the princess to find between the pages of books she read. According to biographer Sarah Bradford, one note read: "You look like a Jewish manicurist and I hate you".[151]

By the early 1970s, the Snowdons had drifted apart. In September 1973, Colin Tennant introduced Margaret to Roddy Llewellyn. Llewellyn was 17 years her junior. In 1974, she invited him as a guest to Les Jolies Eaux, the holiday home she had built on Mustique.[152] It was the first of several visits. Margaret described their relationship as "a loving friendship".[153] Once, when Llewellyn left on an impulsive trip to Turkey, Margaret became emotionally distraught and took an overdose of sleeping tablets.[154] "I was so exhausted because of everything", she later said, "that all I wanted to do was sleep".[155] As she recovered, her ladies-in-waiting kept Lord Snowdon away from her, afraid that seeing him would distress her further.[156]

In February 1976, a picture of Margaret and Llewellyn in swimsuits on Mustique was published on the front page of a tabloid, the News of the World. The press portrayed Margaret as a predatory older woman and Llewellyn as her toyboy lover.[157] On 19 March 1976, the Snowdons publicly acknowledged that their marriage had irretrievably broken down and had decided to separate.[158][159] Some politicians suggested removing Margaret from the civil list. Labour MPs denounced her as "a royal parasite"[160] and a "floosie".[161] On 24 May 1978, the decree nisi for their divorce was granted.[159] In the same month, Margaret was taken ill, and diagnosed as suffering from gastroenteritis and alcoholic hepatitis,[162] although Warwick denied that she was ever an alcoholic.[31] On 11 July 1978, the Snowdons' divorce was finalized.[163] It was the first divorce of a senior member of the British royal family since Princess Victoria Melita of Edinburgh's in 1901. On 15 December 1978, Snowdon married Lucy Lindsay-Hogg, but he and Margaret remained close friends.[164]

In 1981, Llewellyn married Tatiana Soskin, whom he had known for 10 years.[165] Margaret remained close friends with them both.[166]

Public life

 
Lord Snowdon, Lady Bird Johnson, Princess Margaret and the United States president Lyndon B. Johnson at the White House on 17 November 1965

Among Margaret's first official engagements was launching the ocean liner Edinburgh Castle in Belfast in 1947.[167] Subsequently, Margaret went on multiple tours of various places; in her first major tour she joined her parents and sister for a tour of South Africa in 1947. Her tour aboard Britannia to the British colonies in the Caribbean in 1955 created a sensation throughout the West Indies, and calypsos were dedicated to her.[168] As colonies of the British Commonwealth of Nations sought nationhood, Princess Margaret represented the Crown at independence ceremonies in Jamaica in 1962[169] and Tuvalu and Dominica in 1978. Her visit to Tuvalu was cut short by an illness, which may have been viral pneumonia,[170] and she was flown to Australia to recuperate.[171] Other overseas tours included East Africa and Mauritius in 1956, the United States in 1965, Japan in 1969 and 1979,[172] the United States and Canada in 1974,[173] Australia in 1975,[174] the Philippines in 1980,[175] Swaziland in 1981,[176] and China in 1987.[177]

In August 1979, Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, and members of his family were killed by a bomb planted by the Provisional Irish Republican Army.[178] That October, while on a fundraising tour of the United States on behalf of the Royal Opera House, Margaret was seated at a dinner reception in Chicago with columnist Abra Anderson and Mayor Jane Byrne. Margaret told them that the royal family had been moved by the many letters of condolence from Ireland.[179] The following day, Anderson's rival Irv Kupcinet published a claim that Margaret had referred to the Irish as "pigs".[180] Margaret, Anderson and Byrne all issued immediate denials,[179] but the damage was already done.[181] The rest of the tour drew demonstrations, and Margaret's security was doubled in the face of physical threats.[182]

Charity work

Her main interests were welfare charities, music and ballet.[183] She was president of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC)[183] and of the Royal Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (Children 1st)[184] and Invalid Children's Aid Nationwide (also called 'I CAN'). She was Grand President of the St John Ambulance Brigade[183] and Colonel-in-Chief of Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps. She was also the president or patron of numerous organisations, such as the West Indies Olympic Association, the Girl Guides,[183] Northern Ballet Theatre,[185] Birmingham Royal Ballet,[186] Scottish Ballet,[184] Tenovus Cancer Care,[187] the Royal College of Nursing,[187] and the London Lighthouse (an AIDS charity that has since merged with the Terrence Higgins Trust).[16] In her capacity as president of the Royal Ballet, she played a key role in launching a fund for Dame Margot Fonteyn, who was experiencing financial troubles.[188] With the help of the Children's Royal Variety Performance, she also organized yearly fundraisers for NSPCC.[188] At some points Margaret was criticized for not being as active as other members of the royal family.[183]

Illness and death

 
Margaret in later life

Margaret's later life was marred by illness and disability.[189] She began smoking cigarettes in her early teens and had continued to smoke heavily for many years thereafter.[190][191] In the 1970s, she suffered a nervous breakdown and was treated for depression by Mark Collins, a psychiatrist from the Priory Clinic.[192] Later on, she suffered from migraines, laryngitis, and bronchitis.[193] On 5 January 1985, she had part of her left lung removed; the operation drew parallels with that of her father 34 years earlier.[194] In 1991, she gave up smoking, though she continued to drink heavily.[195]

In January 1993, Margaret was admitted to hospital for pneumonia. She experienced a mild stroke on 23 February 1998 at her holiday home in Mustique.[196] Early the following year, she suffered severe scalds to her feet in a bathroom accident, which affected her mobility in that she required support when walking and sometimes used a wheelchair.[197] She was hospitalized on 10 January 2001, due to loss of appetite and swallowing problems after a further stroke.[198][199] By March 2001, strokes had left her with partial vision and paralysis on the left side.[200] Margaret's last public appearances were at the 101st birthday celebrations of her mother in August 2001, and the 100th birthday celebration of her aunt Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, that December.[201]

Princess Margaret died in the King Edward VII's Hospital, London, at 06:30 GMT on 9 February 2002, aged 71, three days after the 50th anniversary of her father's death. The previous day, she had suffered another stroke that was followed by cardiac problems.[202][189][184] Her sister's eldest son, Charles, then Prince of Wales, paid tribute to his aunt in a television broadcast.[203][204] UK politicians and foreign leaders sent their condolences as well.[205][206] Following her death, private memorial services were held at St Mary Magdalene Church and Glamis Castle.[207]

Margaret's coffin, draped in her personal standard, was taken from Kensington Palace to St James's Palace before her funeral.[208] Her funeral was held on 15 February 2002, the 50th anniversary of her father's funeral.[209] In line with her wishes, the ceremony was a private service at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, for family and friends.[210] Unlike most other members of the royal family, Princess Margaret was cremated, at Slough Crematorium.[211] Her ashes were temporarily placed in the Royal Vault of St George's Chapel, before being moved to the King George VI Memorial Chapel in St. George's, following the funeral of her mother in April 2002 (who had died seven weeks after Margaret).[212][209][213] A state memorial service was held at Westminster Abbey on 19 April 2002.[214] Another memorial service to mark the 10th anniversary of Margaret and the Queen Mother's death was held on 30 March 2012 at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, which was attended by Queen Elizabeth II and other members of the royal family.[215]

Legacy

Image

We thank thee Lord who by thy spirit doth our faith restore
When we with worldly things commune & prayerless close our door
We lose our precious gift divine to worship and adore
Then thou our Saviour, fill our hearts to love thee evermore

Princess Margaret's epitaph, which she wrote herself, is carved on a memorial stone in St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle[216]

Observers often characterized Margaret as a spoiled snob capable of cutting remarks and hauteur.[217] Critics claimed that she even looked down on her grandmother Queen Mary because Mary was born a princess with the lower "Serene Highness" style, whereas Margaret was a "Royal Highness" by birth.[218] Their letters, however, provide no indication of friction between them.[219]

Margaret could also be charming and informal. People who came into contact with her could be perplexed by her swings between frivolity and formality.[220] Former governess Marion Crawford wrote in her memoir: "Impulsive and bright remarks she made became headlines and, taken out of their context, began to produce in the public eye an oddly distorted personality that bore little resemblance to the Margaret we knew."[221]

Margaret's acquaintance Gore Vidal, the American writer, wrote: "She was far too intelligent for her station in life". He recalled a conversation with Margaret in which, discussing her public notoriety, she said: "It was inevitable, when there are two sisters and one is the Queen, who must be the source of honour and all that is good, while the other must be the focus of the most creative malice, the evil sister".[222]

 
Margaret (left) and Cliff Richard at the 59 Club, London in 1962

As a child, Margaret enjoyed pony shows, but unlike other family members she did not express interest in hunting, shooting, and fishing in adulthood.[188] She became interested in ballet from a very young age and enjoyed participating in amateur plays. She directed one such play, titled The Frogs, with her aristocratic friends as cast members.[188] Actors and movie stars were among the regular visitors to her residence at Kensington Palace.[188] In January 1981, she was the castaway in an episode of BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs. There she chose Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake as her favourite piece of music.[223] In 1984, she appeared as herself in an episode of the radio drama The Archers, becoming the first member of the royal family to take part in a BBC drama.[224]

Princess Margaret's private life was for many years the subject of intense speculation by media and royalty watchers. Her house on Mustique, designed by her husband's uncle Oliver Messel, a stage designer, was her favourite holiday destination.[225] Allegations of wild parties and drug taking also surfaced in the media.[226]

Following Margaret's death, her lady-in-waiting, Lady Glenconner, said that "[Margaret] was devoted to the Queen and tremendously supportive of her".[227] Margaret was described by her cousin Lady Elizabeth Shakerley as "somebody who had a wonderful capacity for giving a lot of people pleasure and she was making a very, very, very good and loyal friend".[228] Another cousin, Lord Lichfield, said that "[Margaret] was pretty sad towards the end of her life because it was a life unfulfilled".[227]

The Independent wrote in Townsend's 1995 obituary that "The immense display of popular sentiment and interest [in the relationship] can now be seen to have constituted a watershed in the nation's attitude towards divorce".[38] The Archbishop of Canterbury and the Church received much of the popular anger toward the end of the relationship.[108] Randolph Churchill believed that rumours "that Fisher had intervened to prevent the Princess from marrying Townsend has done incalculable harm to the Church of England";[100] a Gallup poll found that 28% agreed, and 59% disagreed, with the Church's refusal to remarry a divorced person while the other spouse was alive.[108] Biographer Warwick suggests that Margaret's most enduring legacy is an accidental one. Perhaps unwittingly, Margaret paved the way for public acceptance of royal divorce. Her life, if not her actions, made the decisions and choices of her sister's children, three of whom divorced, easier than they otherwise would have been.[229]

Eden reportedly told the Queen in Balmoral when discussing Margaret and Townsend that, regardless of outcome, the monarchy would be damaged.[67] Harold Brooks-Baker said "In my opinion, this was the turning point to disaster for the royal family. After Princess Margaret was denied marriage, it backfired and more or less ruined Margaret's life. The Queen decided that from then on, anyone someone in her family wanted to marry would be more or less acceptable. The royal family and the public now feel that they've gone too far in the other direction".[114]

Fashion and style

 
Princess Margaret, 1965

During her lifetime, Princess Margaret was considered a fashion icon.[230][231][232] Her fashion earned the nickname 'The Margaret Look'.[232] The princess, dubbed a 'royal rebel' styled herself in contrast to her sister's prim and timeless style, adopting trendy mod accessories, such as brightly coloured headscarves and glamorous sunglasses.[230][233][234] Margaret developed a close relationship with atelier Christian Dior, wearing his designs throughout her life and becoming one of his most prominent customers. In 1950, he designed a cream gown worn for her 21st birthday, which has been cited as an iconic part of fashion history.[235][236][237] Throughout the decade, the princess was known for wearing floral-print dresses, bold-hued ballgowns and luxurious fabrics, accessorising with diamonds, pearls, and fur stoles.[234][233] British Vogue wrote that Margaret's style 'hit her stride' in the mid-60s, where she was photographed alongside celebrities like The Beatles, Frank Sinatra and Sophia Loren.[238] Princess Margaret was also known for her "magnificent" hats and headdresses, including a canary feather hat worn on a 1962 Jamaica visit and a peacock feather pillbox hat to the 1973 Royal Ascot.[234] Marie Claire stated that the princess "refused to compromise" on her style later in life, continuing with trends of big sleeves and strapless evening gowns.[234]

In April 2007, an exhibition titled Princess Line – The Fashion Legacy of Princess Margaret opened at Kensington Palace, showcasing contemporary fashion from British designers such as Vivienne Westwood inspired by Princess Margaret's legacy of style. Christopher Bailey's Spring 2006 collection for Burberry was inspired by Margaret's look from the 1960s.[239]

Finances

In her lifetime, Margaret's fortune was estimated to be around £20 million, with most of it being inherited from her father.[240] She also inherited pieces of art and antiques from Queen Mary, and Dame Margaret Greville left her £20,000 in 1943.[240] In 1999, her son, Lord Linley, sold his mother's Caribbean residence Les Jolies Eaux for a reported £2.4 million.[240] At the time of her death Margaret received £219,000 from the Civil List.[240] Following her death, she left a £7.6 million estate to her two children, which was cut down to £4.5 million after inheritance tax.[240] In June 2006, much of Margaret's estate was auctioned by Christie's to meet the tax and, in her son's words, "normal family requirements such as educating her grandchildren",[241] though some of the items were sold in aid of charities such as the Stroke Association.[242] Reportedly, the Queen had made it clear that the proceeds from any item that was given to her sister in an official capacity must be donated to charities.[243] A world record price of £1.24 million was set by a Fabergé clock.[244] The Poltimore Tiara, which she wore for her wedding in 1960, sold for £926,400.[245] The sale of her effects totalled £13,658,000.[245][246]

In popular culture

Actresses who have portrayed Margaret include Lucy Cohu (The Queen's Sister, 2005), Katie McGrath (The Queen, 2009),[247] Ramona Marquez (The King's Speech, 2010), Bel Powley (A Royal Night Out, 2015), and Vanessa Kirby, Helena Bonham Carter, and Lesley Manville, who all played different stages of Margaret's life during The Crown, 2016–present.[248][249] The 2008 bank heist movie, The Bank Job, revolves around alleged photos of Margaret.[250] The character "Pantomime Princess Margaret" appeared in four separate sketches, in three different episodes, of the BBC's 1970s surreal comedy show Monty Python's Flying Circus.[251]

Titles, styles, honours and arms

 
Royal Monogram

Titles and styles

  • 21 August 1930 – 11 December 1936: Her Royal Highness Princess Margaret Rose of York[252]
  • 11 December 1936 – 6 October 1961: Her Royal Highness The Princess Margaret[253]
  • 6 October 1961 – 9 February 2002: Her Royal Highness The Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon

Honours

See also: List of honours of the British royal family by country

Foreign honours

Honorary military appointments

  Australia
  •   Colonel-in-Chief of the Women's Royal Australian Army Corps[262]
  Bermuda
  Canada
  New Zealand
  United Kingdom

Awards

Arms

Coat of arms of Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon
 
Notes
The Princess's personalized coat of arms were those of the Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom with a label for difference.
Escutcheon
Quarterly 1st and 4th gules three lions passant guardant or 2nd or a lion rampant gules within a double tressure flory counterflory gules 3rd azure a harp or stringed argent
Orders
The Royal Victorian Order ribbon.
VICTORIA
Other elements
The whole differenced by a label of three points Argent, first and third charged with a Tudor rose the second with a thistle proper[271]
Banner
  The princess's personal standard was that of Royal Standard of the United Kingdom, labelled for difference as in her arms.
  (in Scotland)
Symbolism
As with the Royal Arms of the United Kingdom. The first and fourth quarters are the arms of England, the second of Scotland, the third of Ireland.

Issue

Name Birth Marriage Issue
David Armstrong-Jones, 2nd Earl of Snowdon 3 November 1961 8 October 1993
Separated 2020		 Serena Stanhope Charles Armstrong-Jones, Viscount Linley
Lady Margarita Armstrong-Jones
Lady Sarah Armstrong-Jones 1 May 1964 14 July 1994 Daniel Chatto Samuel Chatto
Arthur Chatto

Ancestry

References

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Bibliography

  • Aronson, Theo (2001), Princess Margaret: A Biography, London: Michael O'Mara Books Limited, ISBN 1-85479-682-8
  • Botham, Noel (2002), Margaret: The Last Real Princess, London: Blake Publishing Ltd, ISBN 1-903402-64-6
  • Bradford, Sarah; Harrison, B.; Goldman, L. (January 2006). "Margaret Rose, Princess, countess of Snowdon (1930–2002)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (revised October 2008 ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/76713. Retrieved 7 December 2008. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  • Crawford, Marion (1950), The Little Princesses, London: Cassell and Co
  • Heald, Tim (2007), Princess Margaret: A Life Unravelled, London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, ISBN 978-0-297-84820-2
  • Warwick, Christopher (2002), Princess Margaret: A Life of Contrasts, London: Carlton Publishing Group, ISBN 0-233-05106-6

External links

 
Wikiquote has quotations related to Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon.
 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon.
  • Profile on the official site of the British Monarchy
  • HRH Princess Margaret 1930–2002 at BBC News
  • Death of Princess Margaret
  • [3]
  • Newspaper clippings about Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon in the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBW
Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon
Born: 21 August 1930 Died: 9 February 2002
Academic offices
Preceded by President of the University College of North Staffordshire
1956–1962 		College becomes Keele University
New title Chancellor of Keele University
1962–1986 		Succeeded by

January 10, 2023
princess, margaret, countess, snowdon, princess, margaret, redirects, here, other, uses, princess, margaret, disambiguation, gcvo, gcstj, margaret, rose, august, 1930, february, 2002, younger, daughter, king, george, queen, elizabeth, queen, mother, younger, s. Princess Margaret redirects here For other uses see Princess Margaret disambiguation Princess Margaret Countess of Snowdon CI GCVO GCStJ CD Margaret Rose 21 August 1930 9 February 2002 was the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and the younger sister and only sibling of Queen Elizabeth II Princess MargaretCountess of Snowdon more Margaret in 1965BornPrincess Margaret Rose of York 1930 08 21 21 August 1930Glamis Castle Angus ScotlandDied9 February 2002 2002 02 09 aged 71 King Edward VII s Hospital London EnglandBurial15 February 2002Ashes placed in the Royal Vault St George s Chapel 9 April 2002Ashes interred in the King George VI Memorial Chapel St George s ChapelSpouseAntony Armstrong Jones 1st Earl of Snowdon m 1960 div 1978 wbr IssueDavid Armstrong Jones 2nd Earl of Snowdon Lady Sarah ChattoHouseWindsorFatherGeorge VIMotherElizabeth Bowes LyonSignatureMargaret was born when her parents were the Duke and Duchess of York and she spent much of her childhood with them and her elder sister Her life changed at the age of six when her father ascended the British throne following the abdication of his brother Edward VIII Margaret s sister became heir presumptive with Margaret second in line to the throne Her position in the line of succession diminished over the following decades as Elizabeth s children and grandchildren were born During the Second World War the two sisters stayed at Windsor Castle despite suggestions to evacuate them to Canada During the war years Margaret was too young to perform official duties and continued her education being nine years old when the war broke out and turning fifteen just after hostilities ended From the 1950s onwards Margaret became one of the world s most celebrated socialites famed for her glamorous lifestyle and reputed romances Most famously she fell in love in the early 1950s with Peter Townsend a married RAF officer in the royal household In 1952 her father died her sister became queen and Townsend divorced his wife He proposed to Margaret early in the following year Many in the government believed that he would be an unsuitable husband for the Queen s 22 year old sister and the Archbishop of Canterbury refused to countenance her marriage to a divorced man 1 Margaret abandoned her plans with Townsend and married Antony Armstrong Jones in 1960 the Queen created him Earl of Snowdon The couple had two children David and Sarah and divorced in 1978 Margaret did not remarry Margaret was a controversial member of the British royal family Her divorce received much negative publicity and her private life was for many years the subject of speculation by media and royal watchers Her health deteriorated in the last twenty years of her life She was a heavy smoker for most of her adult life and had a lung operation in 1985 a bout of pneumonia in 1993 as well as three strokes between 1998 and 2001 Margaret died in February 2002 aged 71 after suffering her fourth stroke Contents 1 Early life 2 Post war years 2 1 The Margaret Set 2 2 Romances and the press 1947 1959 3 Romance with Peter Townsend 3 1 Early relationship 3 2 Marriage proposal 3 3 Press coverage 3 4 End of relationship 4 Marriage to Antony Armstrong Jones 4 1 Separation and divorce 5 Public life 5 1 Charity work 6 Illness and death 7 Legacy 7 1 Image 7 2 Fashion and style 7 3 Finances 7 4 In popular culture 8 Titles styles honours and arms 8 1 Titles and styles 8 2 Honours 8 2 1 Foreign honours 8 2 2 Honorary military appointments 8 3 Awards 8 4 Arms 9 Issue 10 Ancestry 11 References 12 Bibliography 13 External linksEarly life EditPrincess Margaret was born at 9 22 p m on 21 August 1930 at Glamis Castle in Scotland 2 her mother s ancestral home 3 and was affectionately known as Margot within the royal family 4 She was the first member of the royal family in direct line of succession to be born in Scotland since the 1600s 5 She was delivered by Sir Henry Simson the royal obstetrician 6 The Home Secretary J R Clynes was present to verify the birth The registration of her birth was delayed for several days to avoid her being numbered thirteen in the parish register 7 Margaret was baptised in the private chapel of Buckingham Palace on 30 October 1930 by Cosmo Lang the Archbishop of Canterbury 9 At the time of her birth Margaret was fourth in the line of succession to the British throne Her father was the Duke of York later King George VI the second son of King George V and Queen Mary Her mother was the Duchess of York later Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother the youngest daughter of the 14th Earl and the Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne The Duchess of York originally wanted to name her second daughter Ann Margaret as she explained to Queen Mary in a letter I am very anxious to call her Ann Margaret as I think Ann of York sounds pretty amp Elizabeth and Ann go so well together 10 King George V disliked the name Ann but approved of the alternative Margaret Rose 11 Margaret s early life was spent primarily at the Yorks residences at 145 Piccadilly their town house in London and Royal Lodge in Windsor 12 The Yorks were perceived by the public as an ideal family father mother and children 13 but unfounded rumours that Margaret was deaf and mute were not completely dispelled until her first main public appearance at her uncle Prince George s wedding in 1934 14 Margaret front with her grandmother Mary and sister Elizabeth May 1939 Margaret was educated alongside her sister Elizabeth by their Scottish governess Marion Crawford Margaret s education was mainly supervised by her mother who in the words of Randolph Churchill never aimed at bringing her daughters up to be more than nicely behaved young ladies 15 When Queen Mary insisted upon the importance of education the Duchess of York commented I don t know what she meant After all I and my sisters only had governesses and we all married well one of us very well 16 Margaret was resentful about her limited education especially in later years and aimed criticism at her mother 16 However Margaret s mother told a friend that she regretted that her daughters did not go to school like other children 17 and the employment of a governess rather than sending the girls to school may have been done only at the insistence of King George V 18 J M Barrie author of Peter Pan read stories to the sisters as children 19 Margaret s grandfather George V died when she was five and her uncle acceded to the throne as King Edward VIII Less than a year later on 11 December 1936 in the abdication crisis he left the throne to marry Wallis Simpson a twice divorced American whom neither the Church of England nor the Dominion governments would accept as queen The Church did not recognise the marriage of a divorced woman with a living ex husband as valid Edward s abdication made a reluctant Duke of York the new king and Margaret became second in line to the throne with the title The Princess Margaret to indicate her status as a child of the sovereign 20 The family moved into Buckingham Palace Margaret s room overlooked The Mall 21 Elizabeth and Margaret performing at Windsor Castle in a 1943 production of the pantomime Aladdin Margaret was a Brownie in the 1st Buckingham Palace Brownie Pack formed in 1937 She was also a Girl Guide and later a Sea Ranger She served as President of Girlguiding UK from 1965 until her death on February 9 2002 22 23 At the outbreak of World War II Margaret and her sister were at Birkhall on the Balmoral Castle estate where they stayed until Christmas 1939 enduring nights so cold that drinking water in carafes by their bedside froze 24 They spent Christmas at Sandringham House before moving to Windsor Castle just outside London for much of the remainder of the war 25 Viscount Hailsham wrote to Prime Minister Winston Churchill to advise the evacuation of the princesses to the greater safety of Canada 26 to which their mother famously replied The children won t go without me I won t leave without the King And the King will never leave 27 At Windsor the princesses staged pantomimes at Christmas in aid of the Queen s Wool Fund which bought yarn to knit into military garments 28 In 1940 Margaret sat next to Elizabeth during their radio broadcast for the BBC s Children s Hour addressing other children who had been evacuated from cities 29 Margaret spoke at the end by wishing all the children goodnight 29 Unlike other members of the royal family Margaret was not expected to undertake any public or official duties during the war She developed her skills at singing and playing the piano 30 often show tunes from stage musicals 31 Her contemporaries thought she was spoiled by her parents especially her father 32 who allowed her to take liberties not usually permissible such as being allowed to stay up to dinner at the age of thirteen 16 Crawford despaired at the attention Margaret was getting writing to friends Could you this year only ask Princess Elizabeth to your party Princess Margaret does draw all the attention and Princess Elizabeth lets her do that Elizabeth however did not mind this and commented Oh it s so much easier when Margaret s there everybody laughs at what Margaret says 16 King George described Elizabeth as his pride and Margaret as his joy 33 Post war years Edit Margaret far right on the balcony of Buckingham Palace with her family and Winston Churchill on 8 May 1945 At the end of the war in 1945 Margaret appeared on the balcony at Buckingham Palace with her family and Prime Minister Winston Churchill Afterwards both Elizabeth and Margaret joined the crowds outside the palace incognito chanting We want the King we want the Queen 34 On 15 April 1946 Margaret was confirmed into the Church of England 35 On 1 February 1947 she Elizabeth and their parents embarked on a state tour of Southern Africa The three month long visit was Margaret s first visit abroad and she later claimed that she remembered every minute of it 36 Margaret s chaperone was Peter Townsend the King s equerry 37 and very firm toward Margaret whom he apparently considered an indulged child 38 Later that year Margaret was a bridesmaid at Elizabeth s wedding In the next three years Elizabeth had two children Charles and Anne whose births moved Margaret further down the line of succession 39 In 1950 the former royal governess Marion Crawford published an unauthorized biography of Elizabeth s and Margaret s childhood years titled The Little Princesses in which she described Margaret s light hearted fun and frolics 40 and her amusing and outrageous antics 41 The Margaret Set Edit Around the time of Princess Elizabeth s wedding in November 1947 the press started to follow the social life of unconventional Margaret and her reputation for vivacity and wit 42 As a beautiful young woman with an 18 inch waist and vivid blue eyes 43 Margaret enjoyed socialising with high society and young aristocrats including Sharman Douglas the daughter of the American ambassador Lewis Williams Douglas 44 A celebrated beauty known for her glamour and fashion sense Margaret was often featured in the press at balls parties and nightclubs 45 with friends who became known as the Margaret Set 46 The number of her official engagements increased they included a tour of Italy Switzerland and France and she joined a growing number of charitable organisations as president or patron 47 Margaret in Amsterdam Netherlands in 1948 Favoured haunts of the Margaret Set were The 400 Club the Cafe de Paris and the Mirabelle restaurant 48 Anticipation of an engagement or romance between Margaret and a member of her set were often reported In 1948 international news grew that her engagement to Sunny the Marquess of Blandford would be announced on her 18th birthday 49 Similar speculation moved to the Hon Peter Ward then Billy Wallace and others The set also mixed with celebrities including Danny Kaye whom she met after watching him perform at the London Palladium in February 1948 50 He was soon accepted by the royal social circle 51 In July 1949 at a fancy dress ball at the American Ambassador s residence Margaret performed the can can on stage accompanied by Douglas and ten other costumed girls A press commotion ensued with Kaye denying he had taught Margaret the dance 52 Press interest could be intrusive During a private visit to Paris in 1951 Margaret and Prince Nicholas of Yugoslavia were followed into a nightclub by a paparazzo who took photographs of them until British detectives physically removed him from the club 53 In 1952 although Margaret attended parties and debutante balls with friends such as Douglas and Mark Bonham Carter the set were seen infrequently together 54 They regrouped in time for Coronation season social functions In May 1953 Margaret met singer Eddie Fisher when he performed at the Red White and Blue Ball She asked him to her table and he was invited to all sorts of parties 55 Margaret fell out with him in 1957 but years later Fisher still claimed the night he was introduced to her was the greatest thrill of his lifetime 56 In June 1954 the Set performed the Edgar Wallace play The Frog at the Scala Theatre It was organized by Margaret s by now best girlfriend Judy Montagu with Margaret as Assistant Director It drew praise for raising 10 500 for charity but criticism for incompetent performances 57 By the mid 1950s although still seen at fashionable nightspots and theatre premieres the set was depleted by its members getting married As she reached her late twenties unmarried the press increasingly turned from predicting whom she might marry to suspecting she would remain a spinster 58 Romances and the press 1947 1959 Edit The press avidly discussed the world s most eligible bachelor girl 59 and her alleged romances with more than 30 bachelors 60 61 including David Mountbatten and Michael I of Romania 62 Dominic Elliot 63 Colin Tennant later Baron Glenconner 64 Prince Henry of Hesse Kassel and future Prime Minister of Canada John Turner 65 66 Most had titles and almost all were wealthy Blandford and Lord Dalkeith both wealthy sons of dukes were the likeliest potential husbands Her family reportedly hoped that Margaret would marry Dalkeith but unlike him the princess was uninterested in the outdoors 61 67 Billy Wallace sole heir to a 2 8 million 78 million today fortune and an old friend was reportedly Margaret s favourite date during the mid 1950s 59 68 During her 21st birthday party at Balmoral in August 1951 69 the press was disappointed to only photograph Margaret with Townsend 60 always in the background of pictures of royal appearances 70 61 and to her parents a safe companion as Elizabeth s duties increased 61 The following month her father underwent surgery for lung cancer and Margaret was appointed one of the Counsellors of State who undertook the King s official duties while he was incapacitated 71 Her father died five months later on 6 February 1952 and her sister became Queen Romance with Peter Townsend EditEarly relationship Edit During the war the King suggested choosing palace aides who were highly qualified men from the military instead of only aristocrats Told that a handsome war hero had arrived 46 the princesses met Townsend the new equerry on his first day at Buckingham Palace in 1944 Elizabeth reportedly told her sister 13 years old Bad luck he s married 72 A temporary assignment of three months from the RAF became permanent The King and Queen were fond of Townsend the King reportedly saw the calm and efficient combat veteran as the son he never had 73 72 61 He may have been aware of his daughter s infatuation with the non titled and non wealthy Townsend reportedly seeing the courtier reluctantly obey the princess s order to carry her up palace stairs after a party 61 Townsend was so often near Margaret that gossip columnists overlooked him as a suitor for the princess 70 When their relationship began is unclear The princess told friends she fell in love with the equerry during the 1947 South Africa tour where they often went riding together 74 Her biographer Craig Brown stated that according to a National Trust curator Townsend requested the bedroom next to hers during a trip to Belfast in October 1947 75 In November 1948 they attended the inauguration of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands In later life Townsend admitted at this point there was an attraction between them but neither of them ever acknowledged it to one another Not long after he discovered his wife Rosemary was involved in an extramarital affair which ended 76 Contemporary anecdotes about their closeness then dissipated until late 1950 when friendship seems to have rekindled coinciding with Townsend s appointment as Deputy Master of the Household and the breakdown of his marriage 77 From the spring of 1951 came several testimonies of a growing romantic attraction A footman told how the King diverted the pair s picnic plans adding that whatever the King and Queen knew about the developing relationship few royal staff failed to notice as it was obvious to them 78 Townsend said that his love for her began in Balmoral in 1951 and recalled an incident there in August when the princess woke him from a nap after a picnic lunch while the King watched to suggest the King knew 79 Townsend and his wife separated in 1951 80 which was noticed by the press by July 81 Margaret was grief stricken by her father s death and was prescribed sedatives to help her sleep 82 Of her father she wrote He was such a wonderful person the very heart and centre of our happy family 83 She was consoled by her deeply held Christian beliefs 84 sometimes attending church twice daily 61 She re emerged attending events with her family in April and returned to public duties and the social scene when official mourning ended in June American newspapers noted her increasing vitality and speculated that she must be in love 85 With the widowed Queen Mother Margaret moved out of Buckingham Palace and into Clarence House in May 1953 while her older sister now Queen and her family moved out of Clarence House and into Buckingham Palace 86 After the king s death Townsend was appointed Comptroller of Margaret s mother s restructured household 87 In June 1952 the estranged Townsends hosted Queen Elizabeth II Prince Philip and Princess Margaret at a cocktail party at their home 88 89 A month later Rosemary Townsend and her new partner John de Laszlo attended judging at the Royal Windsor Horse Show 90 It is thought the romance between Margaret and Townsend began around this time 91 The first reports that Townsend and Margaret wished to marry began in August 1952 92 but these remained uncommon The Townsend divorce in November was mentioned little in Britain and in greater detail abroad 93 After the divorce was finalized in December 1952 however rumours spread about him and Margaret 61 the divorce and shared grief over the death of the king in February 1952 likely helped them come together 72 within the privacy of Clarence House where the princess had her own apartment 74 Marriage proposal Edit Private Secretary to the Queen Sir Alan Lascelles wrote that Townsend came to tell him he had asked Margaret to marry him shortly before Christmas 1952 94 Other sources claim it occurred in April 1953 60 He was 15 years her senior and had two children from his previous marriage Margaret accepted and informed her sister the Queen whose consent was required by the Royal Marriages Act 1772 During the abdication crisis the Church of England refused to countenance the remarriage of the divorced Queen Mary had recently died and after the coronation of Elizabeth II the new queen planned to tour the Commonwealth for six months She told her sister Under the circumstances it isn t unreasonable for me to ask you to wait a year 95 and to keep the relationship secret until after the coronation 73 Although foreign media speculated on Margaret and Townsend s relationship the British press did not After reporters saw her plucking fluff from his coat during the coronation on 2 June 1953 I never thought a thing about it and neither did Margaret Townsend later said After that the storm broke 60 74 The People first mentioned the relationship in Britain 96 on 14 June With the headline They Must Deny it NOW 79 the front page article warned that scandalous rumours about Princess Margaret are racing around the world which the newspaper stated were of course utterly untrue 46 97 The foreign press believed that the Regency Act 1953 which made Prince Philip the Queen s husband regent instead of Margaret on the Queen s death was enacted to allow the princess to marry Townsend but as late as 23 July most other British newspapers except the Daily Mirror did not discuss the rumours Acting Prime Minister Rab Butler asked that deplorable speculation end without mentioning Margaret or Townsend 70 98 The constitutional crisis that the proposed marriage caused was public 73 The Queen was advised by Lascelles to post Townsend abroad but she refused and instead transferred him from the Queen Mother s household to her own 99 although Townsend did not accompany Margaret as planned on a tour of Southern Rhodesia 61 Prime Minister Churchill personally approved of a lovely young royal lady married to a gallant young airman but his wife reminded Churchill that he had made the same mistake during the abdication crisis 100 96 His cabinet refused to approve the marriage 101 and Geoffrey Fisher Archbishop of Canterbury did not approve of Margaret marrying a divorced man opponents said that the marriage would threaten the monarchy as Edward VIII s had 61 The Church of England Newspaper said that Margaret is a dutiful churchwoman who knows what strong views leaders of the church hold in this matter but the Sunday Express which had supported Edward and Wallis asked IF THEY WANT TO MARRY WHY SHOULDN T THEY 70 Churchill discussed the marriage at the 1953 Commonwealth Prime Ministers Conference held with the coronation the Statute of Westminster 1931 requires Dominion parliaments to also approve any Bill of Renunciation changing the line of succession The Canadian government stated that altering the line twice in 25 years would harm the monarchy 67 Churchill informed the Queen that both his cabinet and Dominion prime ministers were against the marriage and that Parliament would not approve a marriage that would be unrecognized by the Church of England unless Margaret renounced her rights to the throne 102 100 Prince Philip was reportedly the most opposed to Townsend in the royal family while Margaret s mother and sister wanted her to be happy but could not approve of the marriage Besides Townsend s divorce two major problems were financial and constitutional Margaret did not possess her sister s large fortune and would need the 6 000 annual civil list allowance and 15 000 additional allowance Parliament had provided for her upon a suitable marriage She did not object to being removed from the line of succession to the throne as the Queen and all her children dying was unlikely but receiving parliamentary approval for the marriage would be difficult and uncertain 61 38 At the age of 25 Margaret would not need Elizabeth s permission under the 1772 Act 103 she could after notifying the Privy Council of the United Kingdom marry in one year if Parliament did not prevent her If Churchill told the Queen however one could easily leave the line of succession another could easily enter the line dangerous for a hereditary monarchy 67 The Queen told the couple to wait until 1955 when Margaret would be 25 103 avoiding the Queen having to publicly disapprove of her sister s marriage 61 Lascelles who compared Townsend to Theudas boasting himself to be somebody hoped that separating him and Margaret would end their romance 104 Churchill arranged for Townsend s assignment as air attache at the British Embassy in Brussels he was sent on 15 July 1953 before Margaret s return from Rhodesia on 30 July 100 The assignment was so sudden that the British ambassador learned about it from a newspaper Although the princess and Townsend knew about his new job they had reportedly been promised a few days together before his departure 67 Press coverage Edit For two years press speculation continued In Brussels Townsend only said that The word must come from somebody else He avoided parties and being seen with women With few duties the sinecure was abolished after him Townsend improved his French and horsemanship He joined a Belgian show jumping club and rode in races around Europe 67 Margaret was told by the Church that she would be unable to receive communion if she married a divorced man 105 Three quarters of Sunday Express readers opposed the relationship and Mass Observation recorded criticism of the silly little fool as a poor example for young women who emulated her 79 Other newspaper polls showed popular support for Margaret s personal choice regardless of Church teaching or government 106 Ninety seven per cent of Daily Mirror readers supported marriage and a Daily Express editorial stated that even if the Archbishop of Canterbury was displeased she would best please the vast majority of ordinary folk by finding happiness for herself 61 67 The couple were not restricted on communicating by mail and telephone 61 67 Margaret worked with friends on charity productions of Lord and Lady Algy and The Frog and publicly dated men such as Tennant 46 and Wallace 59 In January 1955 she made the first of many trips to the Caribbean perhaps to distract and as a reward for being apart from Townsend The attache secretly travelled to Britain while the palace was aware of one visit he reportedly made other trips for nights and weekends with the princess at Clarence House her apartment had its own front door and friends homes 46 61 Margaret greeting schoolchildren at the opening of The Princess Margaret School in Barbados 9 February 1955 That spring Townsend for the first time spoke to the press I am sick of being made to hide in my apartment like a thief but whether he could marry involves more people than myself He reportedly believed that his exile from Margaret would soon end 67 their love was strong and that the British people would support marrying 61 Townsend received a bodyguard and police guard around his apartment after the Belgian government received threats on his life 67 but the British government still said nothing Stating that people were more interested in the couple than the recent 1955 United Kingdom general election on 29 May the Daily Express published an editorial demanding that Buckingham Palace confirm or deny the rumours 107 The press described Margaret s 25th birthday 21 August 1955 as the day she was free to marry 67 and expected an announcement about Townsend soon Three hundred journalists waited outside Balmoral four times as many as those later following Diana Princess of Wales 46 COME ON MARGARET the Daily Mirror s front page said two days earlier asking her to please make up your mind 61 108 On 12 October Townsend returned from Brussels as Margaret s suitor The royal family devised a system in which it did not host Townsend but he and Margaret formally courted each other at dinner parties hosted by friends 67 such as Mark Bonham Carter 109 110 A Gallup poll found that 59 of Britons approved of their marrying with 17 opposed 108 79 Women in the East End of London shouted Go on Marg do what you want at the princess 96 Although the couple was never seen together in public during this time 97 the general consensus was that they would marry Crowds waited outside Clarence House and a global audience read daily updates and rumours on newspaper front pages 108 109 111 112 113 Nothing much else than Princess Margaret s affairs is being talked of in this country The Manchester Guardian said on 15 October NOW THE NATION WAITS was a typical headline 108 Observers interpreted Buckingham Palace s request to the press to respect Margaret s privacy the first time the palace discussed the princess s recent personal life as evidence of an imminent betrothal announcement 112 67 114 probably before the Opening of Parliament on 25 October 111 As no announcement occurred the Daily Mirror on 17 October showed a photograph of Margaret s left hand with the headline NO RING YET 108 the press wondered why Parliamentarians are frankly puzzled by the way the affair has been handled the News Chronicle wrote If a marriage is on they ask why not announce it quickly If there is to be no marriage why allow the couple to continue to meet without a clear denial of the rumours 109 Why a betrothal did not occur is unclear Margaret may have been uncertain of her desire having written to Prime Minister Anthony Eden in August that It is only by seeing him in this way that I feel I can properly decide whether I can marry him or not 103 Margaret may have told Townsend as early as 12 October that governmental and familial opposition to their marriage had not changed it is possible that neither they nor the Queen fully understood until that year how difficult the 1772 Act made a royal marriage without the monarch s permission 46 An influential 26 October editorial in The Times stating that The QUEEN s sister married to a divorced man even though the innocent party would be irrevocably disqualified from playing her part in the essential royal function represented The Establishment s view of what it considered a possibly dangerous crisis 108 97 It convinced many who had believed that the media were exaggerating that the princess really might defy the Church and royal standards Leslie Weatherhead President of the Methodist Conference now criticized the proposed marriage 101 Townsend recalled that we felt mute and numbed at the centre of this maelstrom 79 the Queen also wanted the media circus to end 72 Townsend only had his RAF income and other than a talent for writing had no experience in other work 67 He wrote in his autobiography that the princess could have married me only if she had been prepared to give up everything her position her prestige her privy purse I simply hadn t the weight I knew it to counterbalance all she would have lost 114 for what Kenneth Rose described as life in a cottage on a Group Captain s salary 72 Royal historian Hugo Vickers wrote that Lascelles s separation plan had worked and the love between them had died 104 Margaret s authorized biographer Christopher Warwick said that having spent two years apart they were no longer as in love as they had been Townsend was not the love of her life the love of her life was her father King George VI whom she adored 31 More than 100 journalists waited at Balmoral when Eden arrived to discuss the marriage with the Queen and Margaret on 1 October 1955 67 Lord Kilmuir the Lord Chancellor that month prepared a secret government document on the proposed marriage 61 46 According to a 1958 biography of Townsend by Norman Barrymaine and other accounts Eden said that his government would oppose in Parliament Margaret retaining her royal status Parliament might pass resolutions opposing the marriage which the people would see as a disagreement between government and monarchy Lord Salisbury a High Anglican might resign from the government rather than help pass a Bill of Renunciation While the government could not prevent the marriage when Margaret became a private individual after a Bill of Renunciation she would no longer be a Counsellor of State and would lose her civil list allowance otherwise taxpayers would subsidise a divorced man and the princess s new stepsons The Church would consider any children from the marriage to be illegitimate Eden recommended that like Edward VIII and Wallis Margaret and Townsend leave Britain 67 72 for several years 46 97 114 Papers released in 2004 to the National Archives disagree They show that the Queen and Eden who had been divorced and remarried himself planned to amend the 1772 Act Margaret would have been able to marry Townsend by removing her and any children from the marriage from the line of succession and thus the Queen s permission would no longer be necessary Margaret would be allowed to keep her royal title and her allowance stay in the country and even continue with her public duties Eden described the Queen s attitude in a letter on the subject to the Commonwealth prime ministers as Her Majesty would not wish to stand in the way of her sister s happiness Eden himself was sympathetic Exclusion from the Succession would not entail any other change in Princess Margaret s position as a member of the Royal Family he wrote 103 In the 28 October 1955 final draft of the plan Margaret would announce that she would marry Townsend and leave the line of succession As prearranged by Eden the Queen would consult with the British and Commonwealth governments and then ask them to amend the 1772 Act Eden would have told Parliament that it was out of harmony with modern conditions Kilmuir estimated that 75 of Britons would approve of allowing the marriage He advised Eden that the 1772 Act was flawed and might not apply to Margaret anyway 103 The decision not to marry was made on 24th October and for the following week Margaret was in disputes about the release and wording of her statement which was released on the 31st 115 It is unverified what or when she was told about proposals drafted on the 28th four days after the decision was made By the early 1980s she was still protesting to biographers that the couple had been given false hope marriage was possible and she would have ended the relationship sooner had she been informed otherwise 116 117 The Daily Mirror on 28 October discussed The Times s editorial with the headline THIS CRUEL PLAN MUST BE EXPOSED Although Margaret and Townsend had read the editorial the newspaper denounced as from a dusty world and a forgotten age they had earlier made their decision and written an announcement 97 101 End of relationship Edit On 31 October 1955 Margaret issued a statement I would like it to be known that I have decided not to marry Group Captain Peter Townsend I have been aware that subject to my renouncing my rights of succession it might have been possible for me to contract a civil marriage But mindful of the Church s teachings that Christian marriage is indissoluble and conscious of my duty to the Commonwealth I have resolved to put these considerations before others I have reached this decision entirely alone and in doing so I have been strengthened by the unfailing support and devotion of Group Captain Townsend 118 Thoroughly drained thoroughly demoralized Margaret later said 60 she and Townsend wrote the statement together She refused when Oliver Dawnay the Queen Mother s private secretary asked to remove the word devotion 67 46 The written statement signed Margaret was the first official confirmation of the relationship Some Britons were disbelieving or angry while others including clergy were proud of the princess for choosing duty and faith 113 newspapers were evenly divided on the decision Mass Observation recorded indifference or criticism of the couple among men but great interest among women whether for or against Kenneth Tynan John Minton Ronald Searle and others signed an open letter from the younger generation Published in the Daily Express on 4 November the letter said that the end of the relationship had exposed The Establishment and our national hypocrisy 108 Townsend recalled that We had reached the end of the road our feelings for one another were unchanged but they had incurred for us a burden so great that we decided together to lay it down 60 The Associated Press said that Margaret s statement was almost a rededication of her life to the duties of royalty making unlikely any marriage for her in the near future 113 the princess may have expected to never marry after the long relationship ended because most of her eligible male friends were no longer bachelors 119 Barrymaine agreed that Margaret intended the statement to mean that she would never marry but wrote that Townsend likely did not accept any such vow to him by the princess and his subsequent departure from Britain for two years was to not interfere with her life 67 We both had a feeling of unimaginable relief We were liberated at last from this monstrous problem Townsend said 79 After resigning from the RAF and travelling around the world for 18 months Townsend returned in March 1958 he and Margaret met several times but could not avoid the press TOGETHER AGAIN or royal disapproval Townsend again left Britain to write a book about his trip Barrymaine concluded in 1958 that none of the fundamental obstacles to their marriage has been overcome or shows any prospects of being overcome 67 46 Townsend said during a 1970 book tour that he and Margaret did not correspond and they had not seen each other since a friendly 1958 meeting just like I think a lot of people never see their old girl friends 120 Their love letters are in the Royal Archives and will not be available to the public until 100 years after Margaret s birth February 2030 60 These are unlikely to include Margaret s letters In 1959 she wrote to Townsend in response to him informing her of his remarriage plans accusing him of betraying their vow not to marry anyone else and requesting her love letters to him be destroyed 121 He claimed he complied with her wishes but kept this letter and an envelope of burned shards of the vow she had sent eventually destroying these also He was apparently unaware Margaret had already broken the pact by her engagement to Billy Wallace as it wasn t revealed until many years later 122 In October 1993 a friend of Margaret revealed she had met Townsend for what turned out to be the last time before his death in 1995 She hadn t wanted to attend the reunion they d both been invited to in 1992 for fear it might be picked up by the press so she asked to see him privately instead 123 Margaret said that he looked exactly the same except he had grey hair 60 Guests said he hadn t really changed and that they just sat chatting like old friends They also found him disgruntled and had convinced himself that in agreeing to part he and Margaret had set a noble example which seemed to have been in vain 124 Marriage to Antony Armstrong Jones Edit A ticket for the wedding procession Margaret and Antony Armstrong Jones 1st Earl of Snowdon May 1965 Billy Wallace later said that The thing with Townsend was a girlish nonsense that got out of hand It was never the big thing on her part that people claim Margaret accepted one of Wallace s many proposals to marry in 1956 but the engagement ended before an official announcement when he admitted to a romance in the Bahamas I had my chance and blew it with my big mouth Wallace said 60 Margaret did not reveal this publicly until an interview and subsequent biography with Nigel Dempster in 1977 125 Margaret met the photographer Antony Armstrong Jones at a supper party in 1958 126 They became engaged in October 1959 127 Armstrong Jones proposed to Margaret with a ruby engagement ring surrounded by diamonds in the shape of a rosebud 128 129 She reportedly accepted his proposal a day after learning from Townsend that he intended to marry a young Belgian woman 60 Marie Luce Jamagne who was half his age and greatly resembled Margaret 130 114 Margaret s announcement of her engagement on 26 February 1960 surprised the press as she had concealed the romance from reporters 131 Margaret married Armstrong Jones at Westminster Abbey on 6 May 1960 132 The ceremony was the first royal wedding to be broadcast on television 60 and it attracted viewing figures of 300 million worldwide 133 2 000 guests were invited for the wedding ceremony 126 Margaret s wedding dress was designed by Norman Hartnell and worn with the Poltimore tiara 35 She had eight young bridesmaids led by her niece Princess Anne 134 The Duke of Edinburgh escorted the bride and the best man was Dr Roger Gilliatt 126 The Archbishop of Canterbury Geoffrey Fisher conducted the marriage service 126 Following the ceremony the couple made the traditional appearance on the balcony of Buckingham Palace 126 The honeymoon was a six week Caribbean cruise aboard the royal yacht Britannia 135 As a wedding present Colin Tennant gave her a plot of land on his private Caribbean island Mustique 136 The newlyweds moved into rooms in Kensington Palace 137 In 1961 Margaret s husband was created Earl of Snowdon The couple had two children both born by Caesarean section at Margaret s request 138 David born 3 November 1961 and Sarah born 1 May 1964 96 The marriage widened Margaret s social circle beyond the Court and aristocracy to include show business celebrities and bohemians At the time it was thought to reflect the breaking down of British class barriers 139 The Snowdons experimented with the styles and fashions of the 1960s 140 Separation and divorce Edit Both parties in the marriage regularly engaged in extra marital relationships Antony had a series of affairs including with long term mistress Ann Hills and Lady Jacqueline Rufus Isaacs daughter of the 3rd Marquess of Reading Anne De Courcy s 2008 biography summarises the situation with a quote from a close friend If it moves he ll have it 141 Reportedly Margaret had her first extramarital affair in 1966 with her daughter s godfather Anthony Barton a Bordeaux wine producer 142 60 A year later she had a one month liaison with Robin Douglas Home a nephew of former British Prime Minister Alec Douglas Home 143 60 Margaret claimed that her relationship with Douglas Home was platonic but her letters to him which were later sold were intimate 144 Douglas Home who suffered from depression died by suicide 18 months after the split with Margaret 60 Claims that she was romantically involved with musician Mick Jagger 145 actor Peter Sellers and Australian cricketer Keith Miller are unproven 146 According to biographer Charlotte Breese entertainer Leslie Hutchinson had a brief liaison with Margaret in 1955 147 A 2009 biography of actor David Niven included assertions based on information from Niven s widow and a good friend of Niven s that he had had an affair with the princess who was 20 years his junior 148 In 1975 the Princess was listed among women with whom actor Warren Beatty had had romantic relationships 149 John Bindon an actor from Fulham who had spent time in prison sold his story to the Daily Mirror boasting of a close relationship with Margaret 150 Princess Margaret Lord Snowdon and mayor of Amsterdam Gijs van Hall on 14 May 1965 Beyond extra marital relationships the marriage was accompanied by drugs alcohol and bizarre behaviour by both parties such as his leaving lists of things I hate about you for the princess to find between the pages of books she read According to biographer Sarah Bradford one note read You look like a Jewish manicurist and I hate you 151 By the early 1970s the Snowdons had drifted apart In September 1973 Colin Tennant introduced Margaret to Roddy Llewellyn Llewellyn was 17 years her junior In 1974 she invited him as a guest to Les Jolies Eaux the holiday home she had built on Mustique 152 It was the first of several visits Margaret described their relationship as a loving friendship 153 Once when Llewellyn left on an impulsive trip to Turkey Margaret became emotionally distraught and took an overdose of sleeping tablets 154 I was so exhausted because of everything she later said that all I wanted to do was sleep 155 As she recovered her ladies in waiting kept Lord Snowdon away from her afraid that seeing him would distress her further 156 In February 1976 a picture of Margaret and Llewellyn in swimsuits on Mustique was published on the front page of a tabloid the News of the World The press portrayed Margaret as a predatory older woman and Llewellyn as her toyboy lover 157 On 19 March 1976 the Snowdons publicly acknowledged that their marriage had irretrievably broken down and had decided to separate 158 159 Some politicians suggested removing Margaret from the civil list Labour MPs denounced her as a royal parasite 160 and a floosie 161 On 24 May 1978 the decree nisi for their divorce was granted 159 In the same month Margaret was taken ill and diagnosed as suffering from gastroenteritis and alcoholic hepatitis 162 although Warwick denied that she was ever an alcoholic 31 On 11 July 1978 the Snowdons divorce was finalized 163 It was the first divorce of a senior member of the British royal family since Princess Victoria Melita of Edinburgh s in 1901 On 15 December 1978 Snowdon married Lucy Lindsay Hogg but he and Margaret remained close friends 164 In 1981 Llewellyn married Tatiana Soskin whom he had known for 10 years 165 Margaret remained close friends with them both 166 Public life Edit Lord Snowdon Lady Bird Johnson Princess Margaret and the United States president Lyndon B Johnson at the White House on 17 November 1965 Among Margaret s first official engagements was launching the ocean liner Edinburgh Castle in Belfast in 1947 167 Subsequently Margaret went on multiple tours of various places in her first major tour she joined her parents and sister for a tour of South Africa in 1947 Her tour aboard Britannia to the British colonies in the Caribbean in 1955 created a sensation throughout the West Indies and calypsos were dedicated to her 168 As colonies of the British Commonwealth of Nations sought nationhood Princess Margaret represented the Crown at independence ceremonies in Jamaica in 1962 169 and Tuvalu and Dominica in 1978 Her visit to Tuvalu was cut short by an illness which may have been viral pneumonia 170 and she was flown to Australia to recuperate 171 Other overseas tours included East Africa and Mauritius in 1956 the United States in 1965 Japan in 1969 and 1979 172 the United States and Canada in 1974 173 Australia in 1975 174 the Philippines in 1980 175 Swaziland in 1981 176 and China in 1987 177 In August 1979 Louis Mountbatten 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma and members of his family were killed by a bomb planted by the Provisional Irish Republican Army 178 That October while on a fundraising tour of the United States on behalf of the Royal Opera House Margaret was seated at a dinner reception in Chicago with columnist Abra Anderson and Mayor Jane Byrne Margaret told them that the royal family had been moved by the many letters of condolence from Ireland 179 The following day Anderson s rival Irv Kupcinet published a claim that Margaret had referred to the Irish as pigs 180 Margaret Anderson and Byrne all issued immediate denials 179 but the damage was already done 181 The rest of the tour drew demonstrations and Margaret s security was doubled in the face of physical threats 182 Charity work Edit Her main interests were welfare charities music and ballet 183 She was president of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children NSPCC 183 and of the Royal Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children Children 1st 184 and Invalid Children s Aid Nationwide also called I CAN She was Grand President of the St John Ambulance Brigade 183 and Colonel in Chief of Queen Alexandra s Royal Army Nursing Corps She was also the president or patron of numerous organisations such as the West Indies Olympic Association the Girl Guides 183 Northern Ballet Theatre 185 Birmingham Royal Ballet 186 Scottish Ballet 184 Tenovus Cancer Care 187 the Royal College of Nursing 187 and the London Lighthouse an AIDS charity that has since merged with the Terrence Higgins Trust 16 In her capacity as president of the Royal Ballet she played a key role in launching a fund for Dame Margot Fonteyn who was experiencing financial troubles 188 With the help of the Children s Royal Variety Performance she also organized yearly fundraisers for NSPCC 188 At some points Margaret was criticized for not being as active as other members of the royal family 183 Illness and death Edit Margaret in later life Margaret s later life was marred by illness and disability 189 She began smoking cigarettes in her early teens and had continued to smoke heavily for many years thereafter 190 191 In the 1970s she suffered a nervous breakdown and was treated for depression by Mark Collins a psychiatrist from the Priory Clinic 192 Later on she suffered from migraines laryngitis and bronchitis 193 On 5 January 1985 she had part of her left lung removed the operation drew parallels with that of her father 34 years earlier 194 In 1991 she gave up smoking though she continued to drink heavily 195 In January 1993 Margaret was admitted to hospital for pneumonia She experienced a mild stroke on 23 February 1998 at her holiday home in Mustique 196 Early the following year she suffered severe scalds to her feet in a bathroom accident which affected her mobility in that she required support when walking and sometimes used a wheelchair 197 She was hospitalized on 10 January 2001 due to loss of appetite and swallowing problems after a further stroke 198 199 By March 2001 strokes had left her with partial vision and paralysis on the left side 200 Margaret s last public appearances were at the 101st birthday celebrations of her mother in August 2001 and the 100th birthday celebration of her aunt Princess Alice Duchess of Gloucester that December 201 Princess Margaret died in the King Edward VII s Hospital London at 06 30 GMT on 9 February 2002 aged 71 three days after the 50th anniversary of her father s death The previous day she had suffered another stroke that was followed by cardiac problems 202 189 184 Her sister s eldest son Charles then Prince of Wales paid tribute to his aunt in a television broadcast 203 204 UK politicians and foreign leaders sent their condolences as well 205 206 Following her death private memorial services were held at St Mary Magdalene Church and Glamis Castle 207 Margaret s coffin draped in her personal standard was taken from Kensington Palace to St James s Palace before her funeral 208 Her funeral was held on 15 February 2002 the 50th anniversary of her father s funeral 209 In line with her wishes the ceremony was a private service at St George s Chapel Windsor Castle for family and friends 210 Unlike most other members of the royal family Princess Margaret was cremated at Slough Crematorium 211 Her ashes were temporarily placed in the Royal Vault of St George s Chapel before being moved to the King George VI Memorial Chapel in St George s following the funeral of her mother in April 2002 who had died seven weeks after Margaret 212 209 213 A state memorial service was held at Westminster Abbey on 19 April 2002 214 Another memorial service to mark the 10th anniversary of Margaret and the Queen Mother s death was held on 30 March 2012 at St George s Chapel Windsor Castle which was attended by Queen Elizabeth II and other members of the royal family 215 Legacy EditImage Edit We thank thee Lord who by thy spirit doth our faith restore When we with worldly things commune amp prayerless close our door We lose our precious gift divine to worship and adore Then thou our Saviour fill our hearts to love thee evermore Princess Margaret s epitaph which she wrote herself is carved on a memorial stone in St George s Chapel Windsor Castle 216 Observers often characterized Margaret as a spoiled snob capable of cutting remarks and hauteur 217 Critics claimed that she even looked down on her grandmother Queen Mary because Mary was born a princess with the lower Serene Highness style whereas Margaret was a Royal Highness by birth 218 Their letters however provide no indication of friction between them 219 Margaret could also be charming and informal People who came into contact with her could be perplexed by her swings between frivolity and formality 220 Former governess Marion Crawford wrote in her memoir Impulsive and bright remarks she made became headlines and taken out of their context began to produce in the public eye an oddly distorted personality that bore little resemblance to the Margaret we knew 221 Margaret s acquaintance Gore Vidal the American writer wrote She was far too intelligent for her station in life He recalled a conversation with Margaret in which discussing her public notoriety she said It was inevitable when there are two sisters and one is the Queen who must be the source of honour and all that is good while the other must be the focus of the most creative malice the evil sister 222 Margaret left and Cliff Richard at the 59 Club London in 1962 As a child Margaret enjoyed pony shows but unlike other family members she did not express interest in hunting shooting and fishing in adulthood 188 She became interested in ballet from a very young age and enjoyed participating in amateur plays She directed one such play titled The Frogs with her aristocratic friends as cast members 188 Actors and movie stars were among the regular visitors to her residence at Kensington Palace 188 In January 1981 she was the castaway in an episode of BBC Radio 4 s Desert Island Discs There she chose Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky s Swan Lake as her favourite piece of music 223 In 1984 she appeared as herself in an episode of the radio drama The Archers becoming the first member of the royal family to take part in a BBC drama 224 Princess Margaret s private life was for many years the subject of intense speculation by media and royalty watchers Her house on Mustique designed by her husband s uncle Oliver Messel a stage designer was her favourite holiday destination 225 Allegations of wild parties and drug taking also surfaced in the media 226 Following Margaret s death her lady in waiting Lady Glenconner said that Margaret was devoted to the Queen and tremendously supportive of her 227 Margaret was described by her cousin Lady Elizabeth Shakerley as somebody who had a wonderful capacity for giving a lot of people pleasure and she was making a very very very good and loyal friend 228 Another cousin Lord Lichfield said that Margaret was pretty sad towards the end of her life because it was a life unfulfilled 227 The Independent wrote in Townsend s 1995 obituary that The immense display of popular sentiment and interest in the relationship can now be seen to have constituted a watershed in the nation s attitude towards divorce 38 The Archbishop of Canterbury and the Church received much of the popular anger toward the end of the relationship 108 Randolph Churchill believed that rumours that Fisher had intervened to prevent the Princess from marrying Townsend has done incalculable harm to the Church of England 100 a Gallup poll found that 28 agreed and 59 disagreed with the Church s refusal to remarry a divorced person while the other spouse was alive 108 Biographer Warwick suggests that Margaret s most enduring legacy is an accidental one Perhaps unwittingly Margaret paved the way for public acceptance of royal divorce Her life if not her actions made the decisions and choices of her sister s children three of whom divorced easier than they otherwise would have been 229 Eden reportedly told the Queen in Balmoral when discussing Margaret and Townsend that regardless of outcome the monarchy would be damaged 67 Harold Brooks Baker said In my opinion this was the turning point to disaster for the royal family After Princess Margaret was denied marriage it backfired and more or less ruined Margaret s life The Queen decided that from then on anyone someone in her family wanted to marry would be more or less acceptable The royal family and the public now feel that they ve gone too far in the other direction 114 Fashion and style Edit Princess Margaret 1965 During her lifetime Princess Margaret was considered a fashion icon 230 231 232 Her fashion earned the nickname The Margaret Look 232 The princess dubbed a royal rebel styled herself in contrast to her sister s prim and timeless style adopting trendy mod accessories such as brightly coloured headscarves and glamorous sunglasses 230 233 234 Margaret developed a close relationship with atelier Christian Dior wearing his designs throughout her life and becoming one of his most prominent customers In 1950 he designed a cream gown worn for her 21st birthday which has been cited as an iconic part of fashion history 235 236 237 Throughout the decade the princess was known for wearing floral print dresses bold hued ballgowns and luxurious fabrics accessorising with diamonds pearls and fur stoles 234 233 British Vogue wrote that Margaret s style hit her stride in the mid 60s where she was photographed alongside celebrities like The Beatles Frank Sinatra and Sophia Loren 238 Princess Margaret was also known for her magnificent hats and headdresses including a canary feather hat worn on a 1962 Jamaica visit and a peacock feather pillbox hat to the 1973 Royal Ascot 234 Marie Claire stated that the princess refused to compromise on her style later in life continuing with trends of big sleeves and strapless evening gowns 234 In April 2007 an exhibition titled Princess Line The Fashion Legacy of Princess Margaret opened at Kensington Palace showcasing contemporary fashion from British designers such as Vivienne Westwood inspired by Princess Margaret s legacy of style Christopher Bailey s Spring 2006 collection for Burberry was inspired by Margaret s look from the 1960s 239 Finances Edit In her lifetime Margaret s fortune was estimated to be around 20 million with most of it being inherited from her father 240 She also inherited pieces of art and antiques from Queen Mary and Dame Margaret Greville left her 20 000 in 1943 240 In 1999 her son Lord Linley sold his mother s Caribbean residence Les Jolies Eaux for a reported 2 4 million 240 At the time of her death Margaret received 219 000 from the Civil List 240 Following her death she left a 7 6 million estate to her two children which was cut down to 4 5 million after inheritance tax 240 In June 2006 much of Margaret s estate was auctioned by Christie s to meet the tax and in her son s words normal family requirements such as educating her grandchildren 241 though some of the items were sold in aid of charities such as the Stroke Association 242 Reportedly the Queen had made it clear that the proceeds from any item that was given to her sister in an official capacity must be donated to charities 243 A world record price of 1 24 million was set by a Faberge clock 244 The Poltimore Tiara which she wore for her wedding in 1960 sold for 926 400 245 The sale of her effects totalled 13 658 000 245 246 In popular culture Edit Actresses who have portrayed Margaret include Lucy Cohu The Queen s Sister 2005 Katie McGrath The Queen 2009 247 Ramona Marquez The King s Speech 2010 Bel Powley A Royal Night Out 2015 and Vanessa Kirby Helena Bonham Carter and Lesley Manville who all played different stages of Margaret s life during The Crown 2016 present 248 249 The 2008 bank heist movie The Bank Job revolves around alleged photos of Margaret 250 The character Pantomime Princess Margaret appeared in four separate sketches in three different episodes of the BBC s 1970s surreal comedy show Monty Python s Flying Circus 251 Titles styles honours and arms Edit Royal Monogram Titles and styles Edit 21 August 1930 11 December 1936 Her Royal Highness Princess Margaret Rose of York 252 11 December 1936 6 October 1961 Her Royal Highness The Princess Margaret 253 6 October 1961 9 February 2002 Her Royal Highness The Princess Margaret Countess of SnowdonHonours Edit See also List of honours of the British royal family by country Companion of the Order of the Crown of India CI 12 June 1947 254 Dame of Justice of the Order of St John of Jerusalem DJStJ 23 June 1948 255 Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order GCVO 1 June 1953 256 Dame Grand Cross of the Order of St John of Jerusalem GCStJ 20 June 1956 257 Royal Victorian Chain 21 August 1990 258 Royal Family Order of King George V 259 Royal Family Order of King George VI 260 Royal Family Order of Queen Elizabeth II 259 Foreign honours Edit Netherlands Grand Cross of the Order of the Netherlands Lion 1948 261 Zanzibar Order of the Brilliant Star of Zanzibar First Class 1956 261 Belgium Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown 1960 261 Uganda Order of the Crown Lion and Spear of Toro Kingdom 1965 261 Japan Order of the Precious Crown First Class 5 October 1971 261 Honorary military appointments Edit Australia Colonel in Chief of the Women s Royal Australian Army Corps 262 Bermuda Colonel in Chief of the Bermuda Regiment 263 Canada Colonel in Chief of the Royal Highland Fusiliers of Canada Colonel in Chief of the Princess Louise Fusiliers Colonel in Chief of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment New Zealand Colonel in Chief of the Northland Regiment 264 United Kingdom Colonel in Chief of the 15th 19th The King s Royal Hussars 265 Colonel in Chief of the Light Dragoons 266 Colonel in Chief of the Royal Highland Fusiliers Princess Margaret s Own Glasgow and Ayrshire Regiment Colonel in Chief of the Queen Alexandra s Royal Army Nursing Corps 267 Deputy Colonel in Chief of the Royal Anglian Regiment 268 Honorary Air Commodore Royal Air Force Coningsby 269 Awards Edit Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Award 2003 270 Arms Edit Coat of arms of Princess Margaret Countess of Snowdon Notes The Princess s personalized coat of arms were those of the Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom with a label for difference Escutcheon Quarterly 1st and 4th gules three lions passant guardant or 2nd or a lion rampant gules within a double tressure flory counterflory gules 3rd azure a harp or stringed argent Orders The Royal Victorian Order ribbon VICTORIA Other elements The whole differenced by a label of three points Argent first and third charged with a Tudor rose the second with a thistle proper 271 Banner The princess s personal standard was that of Royal Standard of the United Kingdom labelled for difference as in her arms in Scotland Symbolism As with the Royal Arms of the United Kingdom The first and fourth quarters are the arms of England the second of Scotland the third of Ireland Issue EditName Birth Marriage IssueDavid Armstrong Jones 2nd Earl of Snowdon 3 November 1961 8 October 1993Separated 2020 Serena Stanhope Charles Armstrong Jones Viscount LinleyLady Margarita Armstrong JonesLady Sarah Armstrong Jones 1 May 1964 14 July 1994 Daniel Chatto Samuel ChattoArthur ChattoAncestry EditAncestors of Princess Margaret Countess of Snowdon 272 8 Edward VII of the United Kingdom4 George V of the United Kingdom9 Princess Alexandra of Denmark2 George VI of the United Kingdom10 Francis Duke of Teck5 Princess Mary of Teck11 Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge1 Princess Margaret Countess of Snowdon12 Claude Bowes Lyon 13th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne6 Claude Bowes Lyon 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne13 Frances Dora Smith3 Lady Elizabeth Bowes Lyon14 Charles Cavendish Bentinck7 Cecilia Nina Cavendish Bentinck15 Caroline Louisa BurnabyReferences Edit In 2002 the Church of England changed its policy on marriages of divorced persons Under certain circumstances it now permits a person with a former spouse still living to remarry in church 1 2 No 33636 The London Gazette 22 August 1930 p 5225 Heald p 1 Warwick pp 27 28 Davies Caroline 11 February 2002 A tale of two sisters enduring affection The Daily Telegraph Archived from the original on 10 January 2022 Princess Margaret Growing up CBBC 9 February 2002 Retrieved 26 June 2022 Henry John Forbes Simson 1872 1932 BJOG An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology 39 4 920 923 December 1932 doi 10 1111 j 1471 0528 1932 tb16082 x S2CID 221490066 Ma am darling The princess driven by loyalty and duty The Independent 25 February 1998 Retrieved 10 April 2013 Heald p 6 Warwick p 33 Her godparents were the Prince of Wales her paternal uncle for whom his brother Prince George stood proxy Princess Ingrid of Sweden her paternal cousin for whom another cousin Lady Patricia Ramsay stood proxy Princess Victoria her paternal great aunt Lady Rose Leveson Gower her maternal aunt and the Hon David Bowes Lyon her maternal uncle 8 Warwick p 31 Warwick pp 31 32 Crawford pp 14 34 Heald pp 7 8 Warwick pp 35 39 Warwick pp 34 120 Warwick pp 45 46 Quoted in Warwick p 52 a b c d e Bradford Lisa Sheridan in From Cabbages to Kings quoted by Warwick pp 51 52 Warwick p 52 Captain Scott and J M Barrie an unlikely friendship The Telegraph Archived from the original on 10 January 2022 Retrieved 1 August 2019 Heald p 11 Warwick p 71 Heald p 18 Warwick p 76 Royal Support for the Scouting and Guiding Movements Official Website of the British Monarchy archived from the original on 24 January 2009 retrieved 25 July 2008 The charitable princess BBC News 9 February 2002 retrieved 17 December 2008 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2018 Heald pp 297 301 Alderson Andrew 11 June 2016 Queen urges Margaret s heirs to avoid another royal gift scandal The Daily Telegraph Archived from the original on 10 January 2022 Retrieved 2 June 2018 Princess s gems tiara for auction CNN 9 June 2006 Retrieved 2 June 2018 a b Heald p 301 Royal auction raises over 13 5m BBC 15 June 2006 Retrieved 2 June 2018 Five actresses to play the Queen for C4 The Guardian 27 January 2009 Retrieved 4 March 2009 The Crown all you need to know about Netflix s 100 million series from the shocking first scene to Matt Smith s topless rowing The Daily Telegraph 14 October 2016 Archived from the original on 10 January 2022 Moore Matthew 14 December 2019 The Crown sees Wikipedia surge on British history searches The Times Retrieved 16 December 2019 Thorpe Vanessa 9 February 2008 Anger at royal slur in bank robbery film The Guardian Retrieved 19 April 2021 Cogan Brian Massey Jeff 2014 Everything I Ever Needed to Know About I Learned from Monty Python History Art Poetry Communism Philosophy the Media Birth Death Religion Literature Latin Transvestites Botany the French Class Systems Mythology Fish Slapping and Many More St Martin s Press p 102 ISBN 978 1466842168 Foreign News Princess Madge Time 10 November 1930 Retrieved 4 March 2021 Princess Margaret at no time assumed the title Princess Margaret Mrs Antony Armstrong Jones see e g issues of the London Gazette 1 November 1960 25 November 1960 24 February 1961 28 February 1961 3 March 1961 and 24 March 1961 No 37976 The London Gazette Supplement 6 June 1947 p 2569 No 38339 The London Gazette 29 June 1948 p 3787 No 39863 The London Gazette Supplement 26 May 1953 p 2940 No 40818 The London Gazette 29 June 1956 p 3803 No 52253 The London Gazette 24 August 1990 p 13769 a b Vickers Hugo 1994 Royal Orders Boxtree p 147 ISBN 9781852835101 Royal Family Orders Official website of the British monarchy Royal Household Archived from the original on 7 March 2013 Retrieved 13 April 2016 a b c d e Princess Margaret royal uk 21 December 2015 Retrieved 16 December 2020 No 39865 The London Gazette Supplement 26 May 1953 p 2997 No 49902 The London Gazette 19 October 1984 p 14141 No 15 PDF New Zealand Gazette 3 March 1955 p 332 Archived PDF from the original on 9 October 2022 No 41535 The London Gazette Supplement 28 October 1958 p 6639 No 54745 The London Gazette Supplement 21 April 1997 p 4766 No 40286 The London Gazette Supplement 24 September 1954 p 5499 No 41801 The London Gazette Supplement 25 August 1959 p 5421 No 47234 The London Gazette Supplement 10 June 1977 p 7079 QEII Award recipients updated Aug 2016 PDF Royal Academy of Dance Archived from the original PDF on 8 August 2017 Retrieved 8 August 2017 Marks of cadency in the British royal family Heraldica org retrieved 17 October 2008 Louda Jiri Maclagan Michael 1999 1981 Lines of Succession Heraldry of the Royal Families of Europe 2nd ed London Little Brown p 34 ISBN 978 0 316 84820 6 Bibliography EditAronson Theo 2001 Princess Margaret A Biography London Michael O Mara Books Limited ISBN 1 85479 682 8 Botham Noel 2002 Margaret The Last Real Princess London Blake Publishing Ltd ISBN 1 903402 64 6 Bradford Sarah Harrison B Goldman L January 2006 Margaret Rose Princess countess of Snowdon 1930 2002 Oxford Dictionary of National Biography revised October 2008 ed Oxford University Press doi 10 1093 ref odnb 76713 Retrieved 7 December 2008 Subscription or UK public library membership required Crawford Marion 1950 The Little Princesses London Cassell and Co Heald Tim 2007 Princess Margaret A Life Unravelled London Weidenfeld and Nicolson ISBN 978 0 297 84820 2 Warwick Christopher 2002 Princess Margaret A Life of Contrasts London Carlton Publishing Group ISBN 0 233 05106 6External links Edit Wikiquote has quotations related to Princess Margaret Countess of Snowdon Wikimedia Commons has media related to Princess Margaret Countess of Snowdon Profile on the official site of the British Monarchy HRH Princess Margaret 1930 2002 at BBC News Death of Princess Margaret British Columbia Archives video of Princess Margaret at a reception HMS Hood Discovery 1958 3 Newspaper clippings about Princess Margaret Countess of Snowdon in the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBWPrincess Margaret Countess of SnowdonHouse of WindsorBorn 21 August 1930 Died 9 February 2002Academic officesPreceded byThe Earl of Harrowby President of the University College of North Staffordshire1956 1962 College becomes Keele UniversityNew title Chancellor of Keele University1962 1986 Succeeded byThe Lord Moser Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Princess Margaret Countess of Snowdon amp oldid 1132185831, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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