The only sibling of Queen Elizabeth II was Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. She was born in Scotland at her maternal grandfather’s house as Her Royal Highness Princess Margaret of York.
Quick Facts of Princess margaret
Celebrated Name | Princess Margaret |
---|---|
Age | 92 Years Old |
Nick Name | Margaret |
Birth Name | Margaret Rose |
Birth Date | 1930-08-21 |
Gender | Female |
Profession | Daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth |
Birth Nation | Scotland |
Place Of Birth | Glamis Castle in Angus |
Nationality | Scottish |
Ethnicity | Scottish-White |
Father | King George VI |
Mother | Queen Elizabeth or Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon |
Sisters | Queen Elizabeth II |
Marital Status | Married |
Husband | Antony Armstrong-Jones (Divorced) |
Sexual Orientation | Straight |
Children | David, born 3 November 1961, and Sarah, born 1 May 1964 |
Height | 5 ft 5 in |
Weight | 58 Kg |
Hair Color | Brown |
Eye Color | Blue |
Death Date | 9 February 2002 |
Cause Of Death | Suffering a fourth and final stroke |
Net Worth | £20 million |
Links | Wikipedia |
When her father assumed the kingdom following the abdication of his brother, King Edward VIII, Princess Margaret was a young girl. She received her education at home from her mother and a Scottish governess. At the age of 17, she launched the ocean liner “Edinburg Castle,” which was her first formal assignment. Margaret rose to fame as one of the most well-known socialites in the world starting in the 1950s, known for her opulent lifestyle and rumored relationships.
She was a divisive royal family member from the United Kingdom. Her divorce generated a lot of unfavorable press, and for many years, media and royal watchers actively speculated about her personal life. She started getting involved with charities and eventually served as president or patron of more than fifty such groups. At the age of 71, she passed away in London in 2002 as a result of her fourth and final stroke.
What is Princess Margaret Known For?
- The youngest daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth was Princess Margaret.
- She had a reputation for splendor and beauty and showed an early interest in the arts and nightlife.
Princess Margaret’s Death Cause
Princess Margaret had health issues. She had been ill for the final twenty years of her life. She smoked cigarettes a lot. Also she experienced a nervous breakdown in the 1970s and underwent treatment for depression from Priory Clinic physician Mark Collins. Later, she developed pneumonia, laryngitis, and migraines. She had a lung operation in 1985, and in 1993, she had severe pneumonia. Then she stopped smoking in 1991, but she kept up her heavy drinking. She experienced three strokes between 1998 and 2001.
Following a second stroke, she was admitted to the hospital on January 10 due to loss of appetite and swallowing issues. Her last public appearances were at the birthday parties for her mother, who turned 101 in August 2001, and her aunt, Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, who turned 100 in December of the same year.
Princess Margaret passed away at the age of 71 on February 9, 2002, at 06:30 (GMT) in the King Edward VII’s Hospital in London. This occurred one day after another stroke, which was followed by cardiac issues, and three days after the 50th anniversary of her father’s passing.
In a television broadcast, Charles, who was the Prince of Wales at the time, paid tribute to his aunt. Private memorial services were held at Glamis Castle and St. Mary Magdalene Church after her passing. Prior to her funeral, Margaret’s casket was transported from Kensington Palace to St. James’s Palace while being draped with her personal standard. On February 15, 2002, the 50th anniversary of her father’s funeral, a service was held.
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After being scattered in the Royal Vault at St. George’s Chapel, her remains were moved two months later to the King George VI Memorial Chapel, where they were interred amid the tombs of her parents, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother (who passed away seven weeks before Margaret). On April 19, 2002, a state memorial ceremony was held at Westminster Abbey.
The Queen and other members of the royal family attended a memorial ceremony at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle on March 30, 2012, to commemorate Margaret and the Queen Mother’s passing ten years earlier.
Who are the parents of Princess Margaret?
On August 21, 1930, Princess Margaret was born in Glamis Castle, Angus, Scotland. Sir Henry Simson, the royal obstetrician, delivered her. J. R. Clynes, the home secretary, was there to certify the birth. In order to prevent her from being listed as number 13 in the parish register, the registration of her birth was postponed for a few days. King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, sometimes known as Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, were her parents.
The second son of King George V and Queen Mary, the Duke of York—later King George VI—was her father. The youngest daughter of the 14th Earl and the Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne, the Duchess of York—later known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother—was her mother. She was the first direct descendant of the British king or queen to be born in Scotland in the 1600s. Queen Elizabeth II was her elder sister. Margaret Rose was her full name.
She is of the Scottish-White ethnicity and has Scottish nationality. She spent her early years in the castle with her parents and sister. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Cosmo Lang, baptized her on October 30, 1930, in Buckingham Palace’s private chapel.
The Duchess of York remarked when Queen Mary emphasized the value of education: “I have no idea what she meant. After all, my sisters and I only had governesses, and we all had good marriages—one of us had a really good marriage “. When she was five years old, her grandfather George V passed away, and her uncle Edward VIII became the new king.
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King Edward VIII, Margaret’s biological uncle, was forced to abdicate the monarchy in 1936 when she was just 6 years old because he publicly declared his intention to wed divorcee Wallis Simpson. In order to be with his beloved, King Edward VIII realized his wish and abdicated the crown. George VI, Margaret’s father, thereby succeeded his father as monarch. Princess Margaret was second in line to the throne behind her sister, who was the heir apparent.
Work in Princess Margaret’s Career
- During World War II, Princess Margaret was a young adolescent. The two sisters were instructed to depart for Canada instead of England. But despite the country being in its worst crisis, their parents refused to relocate them.
- Elizabeth and Margaret stayed at Birkhall in Scotland for the first several months of the Second World War before traveling back to Sandringham House near Sandringham, Norfolk, for the holiday season. They then relocated to Windsor Castle, a royal mansion close to London, where they spent the remaining years of the war.
- They were gone from their parents the majority of the time during the war.
- She emerged with her family on the Buckingham Palace balcony on May 8, 1945, as the Second World War came to a conclusion.
- The jubilation of the win was then quietly enjoyed by two princesses as they vanished into the crowd.
- She was confirmed into the Church of England on April 15, 1946.
- She subsequently started to appear in public more frequently and quickly rose to fame as a young, gorgeous beauty.
- She and Princess Elizabeth accompanied their parents on a month-long state trip of Southern Africa beginning on February 1st, 1947.
Peter Townsend, her father’s equerry, who would play a significant part in her life for the ensuing five years, accompanied her on this journey.
- In 1947, Margaret participated in the launching of the ocean liner Edinburgh Castle in Belfast as one of her first official engagements.
- Margaret was a well-known beauty who was noted for her glitz and fashion flair. She and her companions, who came to be known as the “Margaret Set,” were frequently photographed at balls, parties, and nightclubs.
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- King George VI received surgery for lung cancer in September 1951, a month after she had celebrated her twenty-first birthday.
- During this time, she was given the responsibility of managing her father’s official responsibilities while he was paralyzed after being named one of the Counsellors of State.
- On February 6, 1952, five months after her father’s passing, her sister ascended to the throne.
- Princess Margaret and her mother, “Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother,” relocated to Clarence House following the coronation of her elder sister as Queen Elizabeth II, while Queen Elizabeth II moved to Buckingham Palace.
- Princess Margaret and the Queen Mother visited Rhodesia on a formal tour in 1953.
- In 1955, she embarked on her first solo official tour and traveled to the British territories in the Caribbean on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II.
- She represented the British Crown during the Jamaican independence celebrations in 1962.
- Later, in 1963, 1964, and 1969, she paid official visits to Japan, Denmark, and the United States of America.
- Princess Margaret visited both the United States and Canada during her second trip to the New World in 1974.
- A year later, she went to Australia.
- She returned to Japan in 1979 for the second time.
- In October 1979, she traveled to America as part of a fundraising tour for the Royal Opera House.
- She then traveled to China in 1987, the Philippines in 1980, and Swaziland in 1981.
Charity Work of Princess Margaret
She engages in a lot of charity activities. Her main passions were ballet, music, and charitable organizations. She served as president of the NSPCC, Children 1st, the Royal Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, and Invalid Children’s Aid Nationwide (commonly known as “I CAN”). She served as the Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps’ Colonel-in-Chief and the Grand President of the St. John Ambulance Brigade.
The West Indies Olympic Association, the Girl Guides, the Northern Ballet Theatre, the Birmingham Royal Ballet, the Scottish Ballet, Tenovus Cancer Care, the Royal College of Nursing, and the London Lighthouse were just a few of the organizations she served as president or patron (an AIDS charity that has since merged with the Terrence Higgins Trust).
She was instrumental in organizing a fund for Dame Margot Fonteyn, who was having financial issues, in her post as president of the Royal Ballet. She also coordinated yearly fundraisers for NSPCC with the aid of the Children’s Royal Variety Performance.
Princess Margaret Titles, Honors
- Princess Margaret Rose of York, Her Royal Highness, lived from August 21, 1930, through December 11, 1936.
- Her Royal Highness lived from 11 December 1936 until 6 October 1961. Queen Elizabeth II
- from October 6, 1961, to February 9, 2002: Her Majesty the Queen Countess Snowdon, Princess Margaret
- Indian Crown’s Companion of the Order, CI 12 June 1947
- 23 June 1948: DJStJ, Dame of Justice of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem
- Dame Grand Cross of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, GCStJ, 20 June 1956; Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order, GCVO, 1 June 1953
- 1990-08-21 Royal Victorian Chain
- Order of the Royal Family of King George V
- Grand Cross of the Order of the Netherlands Lion, 1948 Royal Family Order of King George VI Royal Family Order of Queen Elizabeth II
- Zanzibar: First Class Order of the Brilliant Star of Zanzibar, 1956
- Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown awarded to Belgium in 1960
- Uganda: The Toro Kingdom Order of the Crown, Lion, and Spear, 1965
- Japan: First Class Order of the Precious Crown, 1971
- Canada: Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Highland Fusiliers of Canada: Colonel-in-Chief of the Women’s Royal Australian Army Corps
- Bermuda: Colonel-in-Chief of the Bermuda Regiment
Country: Canada
- -Colonel-in, Princess Louise Fusiliers of Canada
- -Colonel-in-Chief of the Northland Regiment in New Zealand; Chief of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment
- Colonel-in-Chief of the 15th and 19th in the United Kingdom The Royal Hussars of the King
- British: Deputy Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Anglian Regiment British: Colonel-in-Chief of the Light Dragoons British: Colonel-in-
- Chief of the Royal Highland Fusiliers (Princess Margaret’s Own Glasgow and Ayrshire Regiment) British: Colonel-in-Chief of the
- Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps
- Honorary Air Commodore, Royal Air Force Coningsby, United Kingdom
How much was the net worth and wealth of Princess Margaret?
Princess Margaret belonged to the aristocracy. When Princess Margaret was barely 13 years old in 1943, she started accumulating her wealth. She received £20,000 from Dame Margaret Greville. When Queen Mary and her father, King George VI, died, she also received sizable bequests. She had about $10 million in art and furniture, $5 million in investments, $2 million in jewelry, and $3 million in wedding presents at the time of her death.
At the time of her passing, Princess Margaret had a total net worth of £20 million. When Princess Margaret passed away, she left her two children, Lord Linley and Lady Sarah, her whole inheritance. A spokeswoman for Lord Linley revealed yesterday that the princess’s estate was worth £7,700,176, on which inheritance tax was due at a rate of 40%, according to the Daily Mail. The amount of money and assets left over after taxes would be around £4.5 million.
The children sold 800 of their mother’s personal possessions at auction after she passed away for about £5 million. Additionally, Lord Linley reportedly made £1.5 million from the sale of the seven-bedroom Caribbean home his mother gave him in 1999. She was leading a wealthy lifestyle before to her passing.
Princess Margaret’s Marriage and Wedding
Princess Margaret and her first love Peter Townsend
Margaret grew close to Group Captain Peter Townsend and fell in love with him after the Second World War. Peter was already a married man. There have been numerous accounts of a developing romantic interest since spring 1951. Whatever the King and Queen knew about the blossoming romance, very few royal personnel failed to notice it since it was evident to them, according to a footman who described how the King diverted the couple’s plans for a picnic.
Townsend remembered an instance from August at Balmoral where the princess roused him up from a nap during a picnic meal while the King was present to imply the King knew. He claimed that his love for her began there in 1951. In 1951, Townsend and his wife Rosemary Pawle divorced, which was reported in the media by July. He had Giles and Hugo, two boys, with Rosemary.
Rumors about him and Margaret began to circulate after the divorce was officially formalized in December 1952; the divorce and their shared sorrow over the king’s passing in February 1952 probably helped them get together in the solitude of Clarence House, where the princess had her own apartment. Townsend came to inform Sir Alan Lascelles, the Queen’s private secretary, that he had proposed to Margaret just before Christmas 1952. According to other versions, it happened in April 1953.
Her senior by 15 years, he. The Royal Marriages Act of 1772 required the Queen’s approval, which Margaret informed the Queen of. Geoffrey Fisher, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and His Cabinet both refused to support the union, and opponents claimed that Margaret’s union with a divorced man would endanger the monarchy in the same way that Edward VIII’s had.
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The Sunday Express, which had backed Edward and Wallis, questioned, “IF THEY WANT TO MARRY, WHY SHOULDN’T THEY?” The Church of England Newspaper stated that Margaret “is a loyal churchwoman who understands what strong opinions leaders of the church hold in this matter.” The pair was subsequently instructed by the Queen to hold off until Margaret was 25 in 1955. Townsend was dispatched to the British Embassy in Brussels on July 15, 1953, before Margaret’s return from Rhodesia on July 30, according to arrangements made by Churchill.
End of Relationship with Peter Townsend
I would like it to be known that I have decided not to marry Group Captain Peter Townsend, Margaret said in a statement on October 31, 1955. I was aware that it could have been conceivable for me to enter into a civil marriage, provided I gave up my succession rights. But because Christian marriage is indissoluble according to Church doctrine, and because I have a responsibility to the Commonwealth, I have decided to put these factors before others.
I made this decision fully on my own, but I was made stronger by the unwavering loyalty and support of Group Captain Townsend. Together with Townsend, Margaret prepared the statement, which they later referred to as being “utterly exhausted, thoroughly disheartened.” When Oliver Dawnay, the Queen Mother’s personal secretary, requested to have the phrase “devotion” removed, she refused.
The princess may have expected to never marry after the lengthy relationship ended because the majority of her eligible male friends were no longer single, according to the Associated Press, who described Margaret’s statement as almost “a rededication of her life to the duties of royalty, making any marriage for her in the near future.”
Marriage to Antony Armstrong-Jones
At a dinner party in 1958, Margaret got to know the photographer Antony Armstrong-Jones. In October 1959, they became engaged. Armstrong-Jones proposed to Margaret by presenting her with a rosebud-shaped ruby engagement ring surrounded by diamonds. She reportedly said yes a day after learning from Townsend that he planned to wed Marie-Luce Jamagne, a young Belgian woman who was half his age and remarkably similar to Margaret.
The press was shocked when she announced her engagement on February 26, 1960, as she had kept the relationship a secret from them. On May 6, 1960, Margaret wed Armstrong-Jones at Westminster Abbey. The event garnered 300 million viewers worldwide and was the first royal wedding to be aired on television.
Norman Hartnell created Margaret’s wedding gown, which she wore with the Poltimore tiara. Princess Anne, one of her niece’s eight young bridesmaids, served as the bride. On the royal vessel Britannia, a six-week Caribbean voyage served as the honeymoon. David was born on November 3, 1961, and Sarah was born on May 1, 1964.
Separation and Divorce with Antony Armstrong-Jones
According to rumors, Margaret had her first adulterous relationship with Anthony Barton, a Bordeaux winemaker, in 1966. Her relationship with Robin Douglas-Home, the nephew of the late British Prime Minister Alec Douglas-Home, lasted one month. She insisted that her relationship with Douglas-Home was platonic, despite the fact that she wrote him several intimate letters (which were later auctioned).
It is unverified that she had romantic relationships with Australian cricketer Keith Miller, actor Peter Sellers, and rocker Mick Jagger. Colin Tennant introduced Margaret and Roddy Llewellyn in September 1973. She was 17 years Llewellyn’s junior.
How tall was Princess Margaret?
Princess Margaret was a stunning woman who stood 5 feet 5 inches (165 cm) tall and weighed 128 pounds (58 kilograms). She had brown hair, blue eyes, and brown-colored hair.
Did You Know?
- Princess Margaret was the first senior member of the royal family to be born north of the border since King Charles I in 1600 when
- she was born on August 21, 1930, at Glamis Castle in Scotland.
- She had always been a music enthusiast.
- The Scottish governess Marion Crawford, affectionately referred to by the royal family as “Crawfie,” nurtured Margaret.
- She was unable to wed Peter Townsend, her first real love.
- 300 million people watched her wedding.
- Since Henry VIII, she was the first royal to get divorced.