9 Interesting Facts About Margaret, The Royal Family’s Most Captivating Princess

Oct 19, 2022

Born four years after Queen Elizabeth II, Princess Margaret lived a life assured that she would always play second fiddle to her older sister. But this didn’t mean that Margaret was content with living in her sister’s shadow. Where Elizabeth was bound to the confines of protocol and custom, Margaret had the privilege of slightly more breathing space. This allowed her to indulge in more fanciful affairs, party hard and enjoy the swinging 60s in a way her sister never could. However, through it all, she remained in awe of Elizabeth, and their bond held firm for all her life. 

Princess Margaret knew that her role fell short of her sister's. “When there are two sisters, and one is the queen, who must be the source of all honor and all that is good, the other must be the focus of the most creative malice, the evil sister,” she said.

The royal shared that while her sister had to act a certain way, she enjoyed not having that burden. “Disobedience is my joy,” she once famously told French director Jean Cocteau. 

Margaret also noted that despite how different they were from one another, she looked up to her older sister. Andrew Duncan, who wrote "The Reality of the Monarchy," wrote that Margaret said: “My sister has an aura. I'm enormously impressed when she walks into a room. It's kind of magic. In my own humble way, I've always tried to take some of the burden off my sister. She can't do it all.” 

While not filled with all the pomp and circumstance that comes with being queen, Margaret still managed to live a full life filled with ups and downs, heartbreak and scandal. Here are nine of her most riveting episodes.

Only superstition?

Princess Margaret was born on Aug. 21, 1930, in Glamis Castle, Scotland, but the registration of her birth was delayed several days as she would have been the 13th infant recorded in the parish register. 

A royal by any other name

Margaret’s mother had initially wanted to name her Ann. “I'm very anxious to call her Ann Margaret, as I think Ann of York sounds pretty, & Elizabeth and Ann go so well together,” the Queen Mother had written in a letter to her mother. However, her husband, King George VI, disliked the name. Years later, Elizabeth would name her only daughter Anne.

A Girl Guides aficionado 

In 1937, Margaret was enrolled as a Brownie in the Buckingham Palace Pack. The Girl Guides remained an important part of her life. She became the association’s president from 1965 until her passing in 2002.

Picking up the habit

Margaret began smoking in her early teenage years, a habit that would plague her health and force the removal of part of her left lung in 1985. She finally quit in 1991 at the age of 61. 

"The house guest from hell"

She earned the title “the house guest from hell” from her blunt mannerisms and dinner habits. She reportedly once told Grace Kelly she didn’t “look like a movie star” and remarked to model Twiggy that her nickname was “unfortunate.” She was always known to appear hours late for dinner, knowing full well the party could not start without her. Despite her snappy exterior, many were charmed by the princess. Her friend, American writer Gore Vidal once described her as being “far too intelligent for her station in life. She often had a bad press, the usual fate of wits in a literal society.”

First love

RAF pilot Peter Townsend joined the royal household as equerry to the king in 1944. He was 16 years Margaret’s senior and married at the time. However, they fell in love and by 1953, after he divorced his first wife, he had asked for Margaret’s hand in marriage. But his status as a divorcé threw the Church of England and the government solidly against the marriage. By then, the press had gotten wind of the affair and the drama became widely reported in the media. The Sunday Express carried a report titled “IF THEY WANT TO MARRY, WHY SHOULDN'T THEY?” Torn between choosing the man she loved or her duty, rights, privileges and income, Margaret chose the latter, and she and Townsend parted ways.

Marrying on TV

Margaret married photographer Antony Armstrong-Jones in May 1960. Theirs was the first royal wedding ceremony ever to be broadcast on television, attracting 300 million viewers worldwide. The couple had two children — a son, David, and a daughter, Sarah.

No happily ever after

Both Antony and Margaret pursued love affairs outside the marriage. Among Margaret’s rumored lovers was Roddy Llewellyn, 17 years her junior. When pictures of them together were published by the press, Margaret and Antony released a statement confirming their marriage had broken down and they would separate. 

First royal divorce

On May 11, 1978, Margaret and Antony announced they would divorce. This became a historic moment as there had not been a dissolution of a marriage in the immediate royal family since 1540 when King Henry VIII's marriage to Anne of Cleves was annulled. While it still sent shockwaves, the divorce would have no effect on Margaret’s royal position.

While Margaret sadly passed on Feb. 9, 2002, her legacy as one of the royal family’s most colorful members remains. 

What a full life Princess Margaret lived! Which facts about her life surprised you the most? Let us know and be sure to pass this along to friends and family too.