Princess Margaret fell in love with the dashing war hero Group Captain Peter Townsend when she was 22, but she was prevented from marrying him due to his status as adivorcé. In the documentary, the archbishop explains that he believed the Princess died with a ‘deep sadness’ about her relationship with Peter, adding: ‘We have to learn lessons from that.’
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By Rebecca Cope
Princess Margaret and Peter Townsend’s romance was first made public knowledge when she was seen brushing lint from his shoulder at her sister Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1953. They had reportedly become engaged in April 1953 following Townsend’s divorce from his wife, Rosemary Pratt, Marchioness Camden, in order to commit to Margaret.
Group Captain Peter Townsend
However, in 1955, Princess Margaret officially announced the end of her engagement to Townsend on the radio, saying, ‘mindful of the Church’s teaching that Christian marriage is indissoluble, and conscious of my duty to the Commonwealth, I have resolved to put these considerations before any others’. Townsend was adivorcé and so marriage to him would have been scandalous. Their relationship was depicted in Netflix series The Crown.
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Both Princess Margaret and Peter Townsend went on to marry others: Townsend married Marie-Luce Jamagne in 1959 and in 1960, Princess Margaret married Antony Armstrong-Jones. Their relationship between the princess and Armstrong-Jones was kept a secret until they officially announced their engagement on 27 February 1960. Antony, who was made Lord Snowdon on their wedding day, was a photographer and – significantly – the first ‘commoner’ to marry a King’s daughter in over 400 years.
