Princess Margaret
21 August 1930 (Glamis Castle, Scotland) - 9 February 2002 (London). Countess of Snowdon. Second daughter of George VI. Younger sister of Elizabeth II. At the age of 6, after the abdication of her uncle Edward VIII, she became second in line to the British throne.
In the 1950s, Margaret fell in love with Peter Townsend. Townsend, her father’s equerry, was not only divorced, but also 16 years older than her. Margaret still wanted to marry him but due to public controversy and opposition not only by her family but also by the Church and Government, she had to abandon her plans.
On 6 May 1960, Margaret married the society photographer Anthony Armstrong-Jones (later Earl of Snowdon and Viscount Linley) in Westminster Abbey. The couple divorced in May 1978. The Princess and Viscount Linley had two children – Lord David Albert Charles Linley, born 3 November 1961 and Lady Sarah Frances Elizabeth Chatto, born 1 May 1964.
The Princess was president or patron of more than 80 charity organisations. However, although Margaret carried out these public duties, she was also a regular in the yellow press where she was often criticised for her high-society lifestyle and her affairs with younger men. Not to mention the smoking and drinking.
In her later years Princess Margaret suffered from poor health. As she was a heavy smoker one of her lungs had to be removed in 1985. Her health and mobility were further affected by three strokes in 1998, 2000, and 2001 and by a bathroom accident in 1999 when she scalded her feet.
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