The Controversial Life Of Princess Margaret

At just 13 years old, Princess Margaret was known for her flirty behaviours and although for the most part it was harmless, there were some moments that were obviously meant to shock her ever-present audience.

It is said that when a family friend and crush of the young princess, Peter Townsend, attended a family dinner, the princess ordered Townsend, 15 years her senior, to carry her up the stairs to bed. Mind you, this was all in front of her own father, King George VI!

Eventually, after years of convincing and flirtation, Princess Margaret entered an affair with Townsend, despite the fact he was married. Furthermore, their romance went against plenty of Royal rules, but that didn’t stop the Princess!

Eventually, Townsend divorced his wife and promptly asked his mistress to marry him. In an enthusiastic yes, Margaret was thrilled to have this opportunity to be with the love of her life - that is of course until Royal rules prevented this from happening.

Queen Elizabeth II tried tirelessly to figure out a way that her sister could marry the man she wanted but unfortunately couldn’t swing it. They were told their marriage couldn’t happen, not only was Townsend divorced, but he didn’t have any Royal connection, and therefore if Margaret married Townsend, she would lose out on her title. Margaret obliged - for the camera’s that is, and the two met privately at the Clarence House in London.

While hiding away from the cameras and their families, Margaret was caught in a media frenzy when she affectionately picked lint off of Townsend’s jacket, and the media picked up on such a careless intimate moment. 

After the media whirlwind, Margaret was stuck between choosing Townsend or losing her title, allowance, and family estates. While it was probably the toughest decision the Princess had to make, she ultimately chose to end the engagement, admitting that she wasn’t sure she could ever live as a civilian. Of course, this broke her heart, but the Princess wasn’t ever too far away from more men.

Following her brief engagement, Princess Margaret had another whirlwind affair with a Canadian Prime Minister’s nephew, Robin Douglas-Home. Although she initially denied the romance, no one believed her when she insisted the relationship was just platonic. Eventually, she was caught red-handed in a lie when letters sent between the two hit the press, and the relationship came abruptly to an end.

Eventually, Princess Margaret was the cause of yet another stir, when photos of the Royal circulated of her seemingly nude, front page of every London newspaper. The photograph in question was taken by none other than her future husband, Antony Armstrong-Jones. While this romance was also controversial within the Royal family, the two were allowed to marry and tied the knot in 1960.

All was well for the couple for a good 10 minutes until rumours started circulating that Armstrong-Jones had a mistress, or two before the ink had dried on their marriage certificate.

As their marriage started to twist and turn into a nasty arrangement, Margret started finding little notes around the house. Not love letters, as one would assume from a husband, but in fact quite the opposite. These notes were full of nasty messages, and even some with a blatant “I hate you” written on them. Unfortunately, the family didn’t listen to Margaret in regards to the emotional abuse she was subjected to and refused her requests for a divorce.

Due to her unforgiving husband, Margaret became further addicted to a party lifestyle, and it was said she had the wildest morning routine. The Princess would wake and have breakfast at 9 am, usually just coffee and cigarettes and would read newspapers and magazines until 12 pm, where she would then order a straight vodka as a little afternoon pick-me-up.

It was a constant battle Margaret faced with her smoking and drinking, and it was said that she was so addicted to the combination she would glue a matchbox onto her bottles so that she could easily smoke while she drank.

Margaret and Antony did end up having children together, and they were quite estranged despite being married. There were a lot of nasty comments surrounding her bouts with motherhood, and in the 1970s, an ex-boyfriend gifted her an entire island. Yes, that’s right, a whole island! Margaret would then spend weeks at her private oasis, far away from her children and the scrutiny of her husband's insults.

Things continued to spiral with Antony, and it was said that at a party in New York, the hostess asked the Princess how the Queen was doing. Much to her surprise, Margaret responded, “Which one? My sister, my mother, or my husband?”. 

Margaret was always known for her quick wit, and sometimes it was rather cruel. At another party, Princess Margaret was sat next to the infamous supermodel, Twiggy. Apparently, the whole night Margaret ignored her, before finally turning to her and asking, "And who are you?". Twiggy replied, "My name's Lesley Hornby, Ma'am, but everyone calls me Twiggy." Princess Margaret just simply replied, "Oh, how unfortunate", and carried on the rest of her evening ignoring the model.