Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon
Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, was the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, and the only sibling of Queen Elizabeth II. Born when her parents were the Duke and Duchess of York, she became second in line to the British throne after her father's accession in 1936, though her place in the succession declined as her sister's children and grandchildren were born.
Margaret spent much of her childhood with her family and elder sister. During the Second World War, the princess remained at Windsor Castle despite suggestions that she and Elizabeth should be evacuated to Canada. Too young to perform official duties, she continued her education while her sister undertook public responsibilities. Her father's death in 1952, which brought Elizabeth to the throne, marked a turning point in Margaret's life and coincided with her relationship with RAF officer Peter Townsend.
Celebrated for her glamour and social life, Margaret attracted widespread attention in the 1950s for her romance with Townsend, which she ended under pressure from government and church. In 1960 she married photographer Antony Armstrong‑Jones, later Earl of Snowdon, with whom she had two children, David and Sarah, before their divorce in 1978. Margaret's private life, including her reputed romances and social circle, was often the subject of speculation by the press.
Her divorce and lifestyle drew controversy, and she became a symbol of both royal modernity and scandal. A heavy smoker, her health declined in later years, and from 1998 she suffered a series of strokes. She died in 2002, aged 71, following another stroke. She is remembered as one of the most glamorous and controversial members of the British royal family.
Early life
Margaret was born at 9:22pm on 21 August 1930 at Glamis Castle in Scotland, her mother's ancestral home. She was the younger daughter and second child of Prince Albert, Duke of York, and Elizabeth, Duchess of York. She was affectionately known within the royal family as Margot, and was the first member of the royal family in direct line of succession to be born in Scotland since the 1600s. She was delivered by Sir Henry Simson, the royal obstetrician. 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. Margaret was baptised in the private chapel at Buckingham Palace on 30 October by Cosmo Lang, the Archbishop of Canterbury.At the time of her birth, Margaret was fourth in the line of succession to the British throne. Her father was the second son of King George V and Queen Mary, and her mother was the youngest daughter of Claude Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne, and Cecilia Bowes-Lyon, 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." George V disliked the name Ann but approved of the alternative, Margaret Rose.
Margaret's early life was spent primarily at the Yorks' residences at 145 Piccadilly and Royal Lodge in Windsor. The Yorks were perceived by the public as an ideal family, 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.
Margaret was educated alongside her sister, Princess 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". 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, and aimed criticism at her mother. However, Margaret's mother told a friend that she "regretted" that her 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 their grandfather George V. J. M. Barrie, author of Peter Pan, read stories to the sisters as children.
Margaret's grandfather died in January 1936, and her uncle acceded to the throne as Edward VIII. Less than a year later, in December 1936, Edward abdicated 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 Margaret's father reluctantly assume the throne, 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. 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 on 9 February 2002.
At the outbreak of World War II, Margaret and Elizabeth 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. They spent Christmas at Sandringham House before moving to Windsor Castle, just outside London, for much of the remainder of the war. Lord Hailsham wrote to 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 without the King. And the King will never leave." At Windsor, the princesses staged pantomimes at Christmas in aid of the Queen's Wool Fund, which bought yarn to knit into military garments. 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. Margaret spoke at the end by wishing all the children goodnight.
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, often show tunes from stage musicals. Her contemporaries thought she was spoiled 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 thirteen.
Crawford despaired at the attention Margaret received, 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". Their father described Elizabeth as his pride and Margaret as his joy. When Elizabeth joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service in 1945, Margaret became extremely jealous, lamenting, "I was born too late!" as she was too young to join herself.
Post-war years
At the end of the war in 1945, Margaret appeared on the balcony at Buckingham Palace with her family and Winston Churchill. Afterwards, both Elizabeth and Margaret joined the crowds outside the palace, incognito, chanting, "We want the King, we want the Queen!" They both joined the festivities with their fellow British citizens, such as dancing the hokey cokey, Lambeth Walk and conga. "I remember lines of unknown people linking arms and walking down Whitehall, and all of us were swept along by tides of happiness and relief," Elizabeth later recalled. Margaret and Elizabeth were "terrified" of being recognised, so they did their best to stay hidden in plain sight.On 15 April 1946, Margaret was confirmed into the Church of England. 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. She later claimed that she remembered "every minute of it", including rides on horseback taken by her and Elizabeth using horses lent by locals near the royal train. Her chaperon on those occasions was Peter Townsend, the King's equerry, who it was noticed could be quite sharp with Margaret. In November 1947, Margaret was a bridesmaid at the wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Philip Mountbatten. In the next three years, Elizabeth and Philip had two children, Prince Charles and Princess Anne, whose births moved Margaret further down the line of succession.
In 1950, the former royal governess, Marion Crawford, published an unauthorised biography of Elizabeth's and Margaret's childhood years, titled The Little Princesses, in which she described Margaret's "light-hearted fun and frolics" and her "amusing and outrageous ... antics".
The Margaret Set
Around the time of Elizabeth's wedding, the press started to follow the social life of "unconventional" Margaret and her reputation for vivacity and wit. A young woman with "vivid blue eyes", Margaret enjoyed socialising with high society and young aristocrats, including Sharman Douglas, the daughter of the American ambassador, Lewis Williams Douglas. A celebrated beauty known for her glamour and fashion sense, Margaret was often featured in the press at balls, parties, and nightclubs with friends who became known as the Margaret Set. The number of her official engagements increased, and she joined a growing number of charitable organisations as president or patron.Favoured haunts of the Margaret Set were The 400 Club, the Café de Paris and the Mirabelle restaurant. 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 the Marquess of Blandford would be announced on her 18th birthday. 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. He was soon accepted by the royal social circle. In July 1949, at a fancy dress ball at the US ambassador's residence, Margaret performed the can-can on stage, accompanied by Douglas and ten other costumed girls. A press frenzy ensued, with Kaye denying he had taught Margaret the dance. 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.
In 1952, although Margaret attended parties and debutante balls with friends such as Douglas and Mark Bonham Carter, the set were seen infrequently together. 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". 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. In June 1954, the Set performed the Edgar Wallace play The Frog at the Scala Theatre. It was organised by Margaret's close friend Judy Montagu with Margaret as assistant director. It drew praise for raising £10,500 for charity, but criticism for incompetent performances. 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.