Princess Margaret Biography

Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, CI, GCVO, CD was Queen Elizabeth II's sister and the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. Princess Margaret, countess of Snowdon, was the fourth in order of succession to the British throne at the time of her birth. Her father was the Duke of York, King George V and Queen Mary's second son. The Duchess of York, youngest daughter of the 14th Earl and Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne, was her mother. 

"I am extremely excited to call her Ann Margaret, as I believe Ann of York sounds charming, & Elizabeth's sister and Ann fit really well together," the Duchess of York wrote to Queen Mary in a letter. The name Ann was hated by King George V, however, the alternative "Margaret Rose" was accepted.

Princess Margaret Information 

• Full Name: Princess Margaret Rose of York

• Born: 21 August 1930

• Died: 9 February 2002 (aged 71)

• Burial: 15 February 2002

• Spouse: Antony Armstrong-Jones

• Father: George VI

• Mother: Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon

Early Life

Princess Margaret took birth on August 21, 1930, in Glamis Castle in Scotland, her mother's ancestral home, and had been known to the royal family as Margot. Sir Henry Simson, the royal obstetrician, delivered her. J. R. Clynes, the Home Secretary, was present to witness the birth. Her birth was postponed for a few days in order to avoid getting numbered 13 in the parish register.

Margaret Princess was baptised by Cosmo Lang, Archbishop of Canterbury, at the exclusive chapel of Buckingham Palace on October 30, 1930. Margaret spent the majority of her childhood at the Yorks' homes at 145 Piccadilly and Royal Lodge in Windsor. The public saw the Yorks as the perfect family: mother, father, and children, but false claims that Margaret was deaf and mute persisted until her first major public appearance in 1934, at her uncle Prince George's wedding.

Margaret spent a lot of time with her parents and sister when she was younger. When she was six years old, her paternal uncle, King Edward VIII, abdicated in order to marry divorcee Wallis Simpson, her world was turned upside down. Margaret's father was crowned king, and her sister was named presumptive successor, making Margaret the second in line to the throne. Despite requests that they are evacuated to Canada during WWII, the two sisters remained at Windsor Castle. She was too immature to do any official activities throughout the war years, so she pursued her schooling instead.

Early Relationship

Margaret was bereaved by the death of her father and was given sedatives to help her sleep. "He really was a beautiful person, the absolute heart and soul of our lovely family," she wrote about her father. She felt comforted by her strong Christian convictions, and she went to church twice a day on occasion. Margaret stepped out of Buckingham Palace and into Clarence House with the widowed Queen Mother, whereas her sister, the future Queen, and her family moved out from Clarence House and further into Buckingham Palace.

Townsend was named Comptroller of Margaret's mother's reconstructed household just after the death of the king. During the conflict, the king requested that palace attendants be highly qualified military personnel rather than merely nobles. The Princesses were informed that a handsome war hero had landed and met him on his first day at Buckingham Palace in 1944; Elizabeth allegedly warned her 13-year-old sister, "Bad luck, he's married." A three-month RAF mission turned into a permanent position. 

Townsend was a favourite of George VI and the Queen Mother; the king reputedly considered the calm and disciplined battle veteran as the son he never has had. After observing the courtier grudgingly execute the Princess's command to take her up palace stairs after a celebration, he might've been informed of his daughter's obsession with the non-titled and non-wealthy Townsend.

Princess Margaret Husband

In 1958, Margaret met photographer Antony Armstrong-Jones at a dinner party. In October of 1959, they got engaged. Armstrong-Jones proposed to Margaret with a rosebud-shaped ruby engagement ring encircled by diamonds.

She allegedly accepted his proposal the next day after learning through Townsend that he planned to marry Marie-Luce Jamagne, a young Belgian woman half his age and strikingly similar to Margaret. Margaret's declaration of her engagement on February 26, 1960, stunned the press because she had kept the relationship a secret from the press. 

Margaret married Armstrong-Jones on May 6, 1960, at Westminster Abbey. The wedding was the very first royal wedding ceremony to be broadcast on television, and it was seen by 300 million people throughout the world. The wedding ceremony was attended by 2,000 people. Margaret wore the Poltimore tiara with her wedding gown made by Norman Hartnell.

Princess Anne, her niece, was one of eight young bridesmaids. The bride was escorted by the Duke of Edinburgh, and the main man was Dr Roger Gilliatt. The wedding was officiated by Archbishop of Canterbury Geoffrey Fisher. Following the wedding, the pair appeared on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, as is customary. The royal boat Britannia was used for the honeymoon, which lasted six weeks in the Caribbean. Colin Tennant offered her a block of property on his private Caribbean island, Mustique, as a wedding gift. The newlyweds took up residence at Kensington Palace chambers.

Public Life and Charity Work

The inauguration of the ocean liner Edinburgh Castle in Belfast in 1947 was one of Margaret's first formal duties. Margaret embarked on several excursions to various countries after that, her first significant tour being a visit to South Africa with her parents and sister in 1947.  

Her trip to the British colonies in the Caribbean aboard the Britannia in 1955 caused a stir in the West Indies, and calypsos have been attributed to her. Princess Margaret accompanied the Crown in independence rituals in Jamaica in 1962 and Tuvalu and Dominica in 1978, as territories of the British Commonwealth of Nations sought independence.

Her trip to Tuvalu had been cut short due to an illness, perhaps viral pneumonia, and she has been airlifted to Australia to recover. East Africa and Mauritius in 1956, Japan in 1969 and 1979, the United States in 1965, Australia in 1975, the United States and Canada in 1974, the Philippines in 1980, Swaziland in 1981, and China in 1987 were among his other international trips.

Her main passions were charity work, music, and ballet. She served as president of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC), the Royal Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (Children 1st), and Invalid Children's Aid Nationwide (commonly known as "I CAN"). She has been the Grand President of the St John Ambulance Brigade and the Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps' Colonel-in-Chief.

Illness and Death

Illness and incapacity plagued the Princess' later years. She started smoking cigarettes in her early adolescence and proceeded to do so regularly for several years. She had a nervous breakdown in the 1970s and was diagnosed with depression by the psychiatrist Mark Collins. 

She had a portion of her left lung removed on January 5, 1985, in a procedure that was similar to her father's 30 years before. She stopped smoking in 1991, but she kept drinking regularly. Margaret last saw Townsend in 1992, just before he died in 1995; she stated he appeared "absolutely the same, except he had grey hair." 

Margaret Rose Windsor was brought to the hospital with pneumonia in January 1993. On February 23, 1998, she had a minor stroke at her Mustique vacation house. The Princess received serious scalds to her feet in a bathroom mishap early the following year, limiting her mobility to the point where she needed assistance walking and occasionally had to use a wheelchair. After a second stroke, she was admitted to the hospital on January 10, 2001, with a loss of appetite and swallowing issues. Strokes had left her with limited vision and paralysis on the left side by March 2001. Margaret's final public appearances were during her mother's 101st birthday celebrations in August 2001 and her aunt, Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester's 100th birthday celebrations in December of the same year.

Princess Margaret countess of Snowdon date of death is 9 February 2002 at age 71 at King Edward VII's Hospital, London, at 06:30 (GMT).