The younger sister of the late Queen Elizabeth II, Princess Margaret Rose was born on August 21st 1930 at Glamis Castle in Scotland. She was the second daughter of the Duke and Duchess of York. Following the abdication of her uncle King Edward VIII in 1936, her parents were crowned King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in 1937.
Princess Margaret was educated at Buckingham Palace but spent a lot of time at Windsor Castle during World War II.
Following the war, Princess Margaret was a glamorous young woman who enjoyed socializing. In 1953 she grew close to Captain Peter Townsend, a war hero and royal equerry, and marriage was certainly on the cards. Unfortunately for Margaret, Townsend was an older man and a divorcee and the relationship was frowned upon by both Church and Parliament. An agreement was reached whereby the Princess could marry Townsend in exchange for forfeiting her rights to the succession. This she did not agree to and she split from Townsend in October 1955.
Princess Margaret married Antony Armstrong-Jones in May 1960 and he was the first commoner to marry into the Royal Family for 400 years (Elizabeth Woodville being the first marrying King Edward IV in 1464). It was the first royal wedding to be televised and Antony was given the title of Earl of Snowdon. The marriage produced two children, David, Viscount Linley (now second Earl of Snowdon) and Lady Sarah (now Chatto). The couple divorced in 1978, the first by a British royal couple in 400 years.
Margaret battled health issues for the rest of her life and died on February 9th 2002 in London. She was cremated and buried with her parents in St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle. She was later joined by her older sister Queen Elizabeth and brother-in-law Prince Phillip.
