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Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon
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The Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon (Margaret Rose; 21 August 1930 – 9 February 2002) was the younger sister of Queen Elizabeth II.
Margaret spent much of her early life in the company of her elder sister and parents, The Prince Albert, Duke of York (later King George VI) and Elizabeth, Duchess of York (later the Queen Mother). Her life changed dramatically in 1936, when her uncle, King Edward VIII, abdicated to marry the divorced American Wallis Simpson (later the Duke and Duchess of Windsor). Margaret's father became King in Edward's place, and after her sister, Elizabeth, Margaret became second in line to the throne.
During World War II, Margaret and Elizabeth stayed at Windsor Castle, despite government pressure to evacuate to Canada.
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Encyclopedia
The Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon (Margaret Rose; 21 August 1930 – 9 February 2002) was the younger sister of Queen Elizabeth II.
Margaret spent much of her early life in the company of her elder sister and parents, The Prince Albert, Duke of York (later King George VI) and Elizabeth, Duchess of York (later the Queen Mother). Her life changed dramatically in 1936, when her uncle, King Edward VIII, abdicated to marry the divorced American Wallis Simpson (later the Duke and Duchess of Windsor). Margaret's father became King in Edward's place, and after her sister, Elizabeth, Margaret became second in line to the throne.
During World War II, Margaret and Elizabeth stayed at Windsor Castle, despite government pressure to evacuate to Canada. During the war years, she was not expected to partake in any public or official duties, instead learning the piano and developing her singing voice. After the war, she fell in love with a divorced older man, Group Captain Peter Townsend, her father's equerry. Her father died at around the same time, and her sister Elizabeth became Queen. Many in the government felt that Townsend was an unsuitable husband for the Queen's sister, and the Church of England refused to countenance the marriage. Under pressure, Margaret chose to abandon her plans, and instead accepted the proposal of the photographer Antony Armstrong-Jones, who was created Earl of Snowdon by the Queen. The marriage, despite an auspicious start, soon became unhappy; the couple divorced in 1978.
Margaret was often viewed as a controversial member of the royal family. Her divorce earned her negative publicity, and she was romantically linked with several men. Her health gradually deteriorated; a heavy smoker all her adult life, she had a lung operation in 1985, a bout of pneumonia in 1993, and at least three strokes between 1998 and 2001. Her final public appearance was at the 101st birthday celebrations of her mother. She died at King Edward VII Hospital, London, on 9 February 2002. After the funeral, Margaret's body was cremated. Two months later, after the death of her mother, her ashes were interred beside the bodies of her parents in the George VI memorial chapel at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle.
Early life
Margaret was born Her Royal Highness Princess Margaret Rose of York on 21 August 1930 at Glamis Castle in Scotland, her mother's ancestral home. At the time of her birth, she was fourth in the line of succession to the British throne, and the first senior royal baby to be born in Scotland since Charles I in 1600. Her father was The Prince Albert, Duke of York (later George VI), the second son of King George V and Queen Mary. As a grandchild of the Sovereign in the male line, Margaret Rose was styled Her Royal Highness from birth. Her mother was Elizabeth, Duchess of York, the youngest daughter of the 14th Earl and Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne. The Duchess of York originally wanted the names 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." The King disliked the name Ann, but approved of the alternative "Margaret Rose". She was baptised in the Private Chapel of Buckingham Palace on 30 October 1930 by Cosmo Lang, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and her godparents were her uncle Edward, Prince of Wales (for whom his brother, The Prince George, stood proxy); her father's cousin Princess Ingrid of Sweden (for whom Lady Patricia Ramsay stood proxy); her great-aunt The Princess Victoria; her maternal aunt Lady Rose Leveson-Gower; and her maternal uncle The Hon David Bowes-Lyon.
Margaret's early life was spent primarily at the Yorks' residences at 145 Piccadilly (their town house in London) or Royal Lodge in Windsor. The Yorks were perceived by the public as an ideal family: father, mother and children, but unfounded rumours that Margaret was deaf and dumb were not completely dispelled until Margaret's first main public appearance at her uncle Prince George's wedding in 1934. She was educated alongside her sister, Princess Elizabeth, by their Scottish governess Marion Crawford. Her 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". 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". Margaret was resentful about her limited education, especially in later years, aiming criticism at her mother. However, Margaret's mother told a friend that she "regretted" that her own daughters did not go to school like other children, 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.
George V died when Margaret was five, and her uncle succeeded as King Edward VIII. Less than a year later, on 11 December 1936, Edward abdicated to marry Wallis Simpson, a twice-divorced American, who neither the Church of England nor the Commonwealth governments would accept as Queen. The Church would not recognise the marriage of a divorced woman with a living ex-husband as valid. Edward's abdication for love left a reluctant Duke of York in his place as King George VI. This made Margaret, as she put it, "heir apparent to the heir presumptive". The family moved into Buckingham Palace; Margaret's room overlooked The Mall.
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 in 2002.
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 solid. They spent Christmas at Sandringham House, before moving to Windsor Castle just outside London for the remainder of the war. Lord Hailsham wrote to Prime Minister Winston Churchill to advise the evacuation of the princesses to the greater safety of Canada, to which their mother famously replied "The children won't go without me. I won't leave the King. And the King will never leave." When Margaret was twelve in 1942 her uncle and godfather, The Duke of Kent, was killed in an air crash. 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. Her contemporaries thought she was spoilt by her parents, especially her father, who allowed her to take liberties not usually permissible, such as being allowed to stay up to dinner at the age of 13. Marion 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, commenting, "oh, it's so much easier when Margaret's there — everybody laughs at what Margaret says". King George described Elizabeth as his pride and Margaret as his joy.
Post-war years
Following 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 sneaked out of the palace incognito to join the crowds chanting, "we want the King, we want the Queen!". On 1 February 1947, Margaret, Elizabeth and her 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". Margaret was chaperoned by Peter Townsend, the King's equerry. Later that year, Margaret was a bridesmaid at Elizabeth's wedding.
In 1949, the former royal governess, Marion Crawford, published a biography of Elizabeth and Margaret's childhood years entitled The Little Princesses in which she described Margaret's "amusing and outrageous ... antics", saying that Margaret misbehaved as a child but got away with it. The royal family were appalled at what they saw as Crawford's invasion of their privacy and breach of trust, as a result of which Crawford was ostracised from royal circles.
As a beautiful young woman, with an 18-inch waist and "vivid blue eyes", Margaret enjoyed socialising with high society and the young, aristocratic set, including Sharman Douglas, the daughter of the American ambassador, Lewis W. Douglas. She was often featured in the press at balls, parties, and night-clubs. The number of her official engagements increased, which included a tour of Italy, Switzerland and France, and she joined a growing number of charitable organisations as President or Patron.
Her twenty-first birthday party was held at Balmoral in August 1951. 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. Within six months, her father was dead and her sister was Queen.
Marriage
Margaret was grief-stricken by her father's death, and was prescribed sedatives to help her sleep. She wrote, "He was such a wonderful person, the very heart and centre of our happy family." She was consoled by her deeply-held Christian beliefs. With her widowed mother, Margaret moved out of Buckingham Palace and into Clarence House, while her sister and her family moved out of Clarence House and into Buckingham Palace. Peter Townsend was appointed Comptroller of her mother's household.
By 1953, Townsend was divorced from his first wife; he proposed marriage to Margaret. He was sixteen years older than she, and had two children from his previous marriage. Margaret accepted, and informed the Queen of her desire to marry Townsend. As in 1936, the Church of England refused to countenance the remarriage of the divorced. Queen Mary had recently died, and the Queen was about to be crowned in the Coronation service. After the Coronation, she planned to tour the Commonwealth for six months. The Queen told Margaret, "Under the circumstances, it isn't unreasonable for me to ask you to wait a year." The Queen was counselled by her private secretary to post Townsend abroad, but she refused, instead transferring him from the Queen Mother's household to her own. The British Cabinet refused to approve the marriage, and one newspaper reported that the marriage was "unthinkable" and "would fly in the face of Royal and Christian tradition". The Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, informed the Queen that the Commonwealth prime ministers were unanimously against the marriage, and that Parliament would not approve a marriage that would be unrecognised by the Church of England unless Margaret renounced her right of succession. Churchill arranged for Townsend to be posted to Brussels. Polls run by popular newspapers appeared to show that the public supported Margaret's personal choice, regardless of Church teaching or the government's opinion. For two years, press speculation continued. Margaret was told by clerics, incorrectly, that she would be unable to take communion if she married a divorced man. Finally, Margaret issued a statement:
Following some other romantic interests, on 6 May 1960, Margaret married the photographer Antony Armstrong-Jones at Westminster Abbey. She reportedly accepted his proposal a day after learning from Peter Townsend that he intended to marry a young Belgian woman, Marie-Luce Jamagne, who was half his age and bore "more than a passing resemblance to the Princess". The announcement of the engagement, on 26 February 1960, took the press by surprise. Margaret had taken care to conceal the romance from reporters. The ceremony was the first royal wedding to be broadcast on television, and attracted viewing figures of 300 million worldwide. Margaret's corsage was designed by Norman Hartnell, and the honeymoon was spent aboard the royal yacht Britannia on a six-week Caribbean cruise. As a wedding present, Colin Tennant gave her a plot of land on his private Caribbean island, Mustique. The newly-weds moved into rooms in Kensington Palace. In 1961, the Princess's husband was created Earl of Snowdon, whereupon she became formally styled HRH the Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon. The couple had two children: David, Viscount Linley in 1961 and Lady Sarah in 1964.
The marriage widened Princess Margaret's social circle beyond the Court and aristocracy to include show business celebrities and bohemians, and was seen at the time as reflecting the breakdown of class barriers. The Snowdons experimented with the styles and fashions of the 1960s.
Royal duties
Princess Margaret began her royal duties at an early age. She attended the silver jubilee of her grandparents, George V and Queen Mary, aged five in 1935. She later attended her parents' coronation in 1937. Her first major royal tour occurred when 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. As colonies of the British Commonwealth sought nationhood, Princess Margaret repeatedly represented the British Crown at their independence ceremonies.
The Princess's main interests were welfare charities, music and ballet. She was President of the National Society and of the Royal Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children and Invalid Children's Aid Nationwide (also called 'I CAN'). Formerly Commandant-in-Chief of the Ambulance and Nursing Cadets of the St. John Ambulance Brigade, she later became Grand President of the St John Ambulance Brigade and Colonel-in-Chief of Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps. She was also the president or patron of numerous sports and wildlife conservation organisations, such as the British Olympic Association, the Royal Yachting Association and the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust.
Private life
Reportedly, her first extramarital affair took place in 1966, with her daughter's godfather, Bordeaux wine producer Anthony Barton, and a year later she had a one-month liaison with Robin Douglas-Home, a nephew of a former British Prime Minister. Margaret claimed that her relationship with Douglas-Home was platonic, but her letters to him (which were later sold) were intimate. Douglas-Home committed suicide 18 months after the split with Margaret. Claims that she was romantically involved with musician Mick Jagger, actor Peter Sellers, and Australian cricketer Keith Miller are unproven. Another association was supposed to be with John Bindon, a cockney actor who had spent time in prison. His story, sold to the Daily Mirror, boasted of a close relationship with Margaret and, while it was debatable, the publicity that followed further damaged her reputation.
By the early 1970s, the Snowdons had drifted apart. In September 1973, Colin Tennant introduced Margaret to Roddy Llewellyn. Llewellyn was seventeen years her junior. In 1974, he was a guest at the holiday home she had built on Mustique. It was the first of several visits. Margaret described their relationship as "a loving friendship". Once, when Llewellyn left on an impulsive trip to Turkey, Margaret became emotionally distraught and took an overdose of sleeping tablets. "I was so exhausted because of everything", she later said, "that all I wanted to do was sleep." As she recovered, her ladies-in-waiting kept Lord Snowdon away from her, afraid that seeing him would distress her further.
In February 1976, a picture of Margaret and Llewellyn in swimsuits on Mustique was published on the front page of the tabloid News of the World. The press portrayed Margaret and Llewellyn as a predatory older woman and her toyboy lover. The following month, the Snowdons publicly acknowledged that their marriage was over. There were calls to remove her from the Civil list. Labour MPs denounced her as "a royal parasite", and a "floosie". On 11 July 1978, the Snowdons' divorce was finalised. It was the first divorce of a senior Royal since Princess Victoria of Edinburgh in 1901. In December Snowdon married Lucy Lindsay-Hogg.
Later life
While on a fund-raising tour of the United States in October 1979 on behalf of the Royal Opera House, Margaret became embroiled in the controversy over the assassination of Lord Mountbatten of Burma. Mountbatten and members of his family were killed by a bomb planted by the Provisional Irish Republican Army. 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. The following day, a single press report claimed that Margaret had referred to the Irish as "pigs". Margaret, Anderson and Byrne all issued immediate denials, but the damage was already done. The rest of the tour drew demonstrations, and Margaret's security was doubled in the face of physical threats.
In 1981, Llewellyn married Tatiana Soskin, whom he had known for ten years. Margaret remained close friends with them both.
The Princess's later life was marred by illness and disability. On 5 January 1985, she had part of her left lung removed; an operation which drew parallels with that of her father thirty years before. In January 1993 she was admitted to hospital for pneumonia. She experienced a mild stroke in 1998 at her holiday home in Mustique. Early in the following year, the Princess suffered severe scalds to her feet in a bathroom accident, which affected her mobility to the extent she required support when walking and was sometimes restricted to a wheelchair. In January and March 2001, further strokes were diagnosed, which left her with partial vision and paralysis on the left side. Margaret's last public appearance was at the 101st birthday celebrations of her mother in August 2001. In December that year, she attended the private 100th birthday celebration of her aunt, Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester.
Legacy
Princess Margaret died in the King Edward VII Hospital on 9 February 2002 at the age of 71, after suffering another stroke. Her funeral was held on 15 February 2002 — the 50th anniversary of her father's funeral. In line with the Princess's wishes, the ceremony was a private service for family and friends. It was the last time the Queen Mother was seen in public before her own death only six weeks later; she was advised by many not to attend but she insisted on attending. A state memorial service was held several weeks later. Unlike most other members of the Royal Family, Princess Margaret was cremated, at Slough Crematorium. Her ashes were placed in the tomb of her parents, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, in the King George VI Memorial Chapel in St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle.
Princess Margaret's nephew, Charles, Prince of Wales, talked about her after her death:
As Gore Vidal, an acquaintance, once wrote, "She was far too intelligent for her station in life." Vidal, in his memoirs Point to Point Navigation, recalled a conversation with Princess Margaret, in which she discussed her public notoriety, saying, "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."
Princess Margaret's private life was for many years the subject of intense speculation by media and royal-watchers. Her house on Mustique was her favorite holiday destination and many of its houses were designed by her husband's uncle, the stage designer Oliver Messel. Allegations of wild parties and drug taking were made in a documentary broadcast after the Princess's death. Her supposed Mustique indiscretions form an important part of the background of the quasi-historical 2008 film The Bank Job. Princess Margaret was portrayed by Lucy Cohu in the Channel 4 TV drama The Queen's Sister (2005), by Trulie MacLeod in the TV drama The Women of Windsor (1992), and by Hannah Wiltshire in the TV drama Bertie and Elizabeth.
In April 2007, an exhibition entitled Princess Line - The Fashion Legacy of Princess Margaret opened at Kensington Palace, showcasing contemporary fashion from British designers such as Burberry and Vivienne Westwood inspired by Princess Margaret's 'legacy' of style. Vivienne Westwood's clothing in her Harris Tweed collection of 1987 was inspired by the clothes worn by the Queen and Princess Margaret as children, while Christopher Bailey's Spring 2006 collection for Burberry was inspired by 'archive images of HRH Princess Margaret'. Alongside the contemporary fashion pieces, the exhibition displayed a number of Princess Margaret's original accessories, all inside her former wardrobe room at Kensington Palace. Other contemporary designers showcased included Hardy Amies, Topshop, Marks & Spencer and Gemma Ainsworth, while Margaret's accessories include turbans, classic hats worn to Ascot and a replica of the Poltimore Tiara worn for her wedding to Lord Snowdon in 1960.
It is argued 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.
Titles, styles, honours and arms
Titles and styles
- 21 August 1930 – 11 December 1936: Her Royal Highness Princess Margaret of York
- 11 December 1936 – 3 October 1961: Her Royal Highness The Princess Margaret
- 3 October 1961 – 9 February 2002: Her Royal Highness The Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon
Honours
Foreign Honours
Honorary military appointments
Bermuda
Canada
United Kingdom
Arms
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