- Wikipedia

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\"Princess Margaret\" redirects here. For other uses, see Princess Margaret (disambiguation).

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Princess Margaret
Countess of Snowdon (more)
$\"Photograph$ Margaret in 1965
Born	Princess Margaret Rose of York (1930-08-21)21 August 1930 Glamis Castle, Angus, Scotland
Died	9 February 2002(2002-02-09) (aged 71) King Edward VII's Hospital, London, England
Burial	15 February 2002 Ashes placed in the Royal Vault, St George's Chapel 9 April 2002 Ashes interred in the King George VI Memorial Chapel, St George's Chapel
Spouse	\n Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon \n (m. 1960; div. 1978)
Issue	\n David Armstrong-Jones, 2nd Earl of Snowdon \n Lady Sarah Chatto \n
House	Windsor
Father	George VI
Mother	Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Signature	$\"Princess$

Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon (Margaret Rose; 21 August 1930 \u2013 9 February 2002) was the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. She was the younger sister and only sibling of Queen Elizabeth II.\n

Margaret was born when her parents were the Duke and Duchess of York, and she spent much of her childhood with them and her elder sister. Her life changed at the age of six, when her father succeeded to the British throne following the abdication of his brother Edward VIII. Margaret's sister became heir presumptive, with Margaret second in line to the throne. Her position in the line of succession diminished over the following decades as Elizabeth's children and grandchildren were born. During the Second World War, the two sisters stayed at Windsor Castle despite suggestions to evacuate them to Canada. During the war years, Margaret was too young to perform official duties and continued her education, being nine years old when the war broke out and turning fifteen just after hostilities ended.\n

From the 1950s onwards, Margaret became one of the world's most celebrated socialites, famed for her glamorous lifestyle and reputed romances. Most famously, she fell in love in the early 1950s with Peter Townsend, a married RAF officer in the royal household. In 1952, her father died, her sister became queen, and Townsend divorced his wife. He proposed to Margaret early in the following year. Many in the government believed that he would be an unsuitable husband for the Queen's 22-year-old sister, and the Archbishop of Canterbury refused to countenance her marriage to a divorced man.^[1] Margaret abandoned her plans with Townsend. In 1960, she married Antony Armstrong-Jones, whom Elizabeth created Earl of Snowdon. The couple had two children, David and Sarah. Margaret's marriage to Lord Snowdon became strained, with both of them engaging in extramarital affairs. They separated in 1976 and divorced in 1978. Margaret did not remarry.\n

Margaret was a controversial member of the British royal family. Her divorce received much negative publicity, and her private life was for many years the subject of speculation by media and royal watchers. Her health deteriorated in the last twenty years of her life. She was a heavy smoker for most of her adult life, and had a lung operation in 1985 and a bout of pneumonia in 1993, as well as three strokes between 1998 and 2001. Margaret died in 2002 aged 71, after suffering her fourth stroke.\n

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Country\n	Date\n	Appointment\n	Ribbon\n	Post-nominal\n letters\n \n	Other\n
$\"\"$ United Kingdom\n	12 June 1947\n	Companion of the Order of the Crown of India\n	\n	CI\n	^[265]\n
23 June 1948\n	Dame of Justice of the Order of St John of Jerusalem\n	\n	DJStJ\n	^[266]\n
$\"\"$ Netherlands\n	1948\n	Grand Cross of the Order of the Netherlands Lion\n	\n	\n	^[267]\n
$\"\"$ United Kingdom\n	1 June 1953\n	Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order\n	\n	GCVO\n	^[268]\n
$\"\"$ Zanzibar\n	1956\n	Order of the Brilliant Star of Zanzibar, First Class\n	\n	\n	^[267]\n
$\"\"$ United Kingdom\n	20 June 1956\n	Dame Grand Cross of the Order of St John of Jerusalem\n	\n	GCStJ\n	^[269]\n
$\"\"$ Belgium\n	1960\n	Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown\n	\n	\n	^[267]\n
$\"\"$ Uganda\n	1965\n	Order of the Crown, Lion, and Spear of Toro Kingdom\n	\n	\n	^[267]\n
$\"\"$ Japan\n	5 October 1971\n	Order of the Precious Crown, First Class\n	\n	\n	^[267]\n
$\"\"$ United Kingdom\n	21 August 1990\n	Recipient of the Royal Victorian Chain\n	\n	\n	^[270]\n
\n	Recipient of the Royal Family Order of George V\n	\n	\n	^[271]\n
\n	Recipient of the Royal Family Order of George VI\n	\n	\n	^[272]\n
\n	Recipient of the Royal Family Order of Elizabeth II\n	\n	\n	^[271]\n

Name	Birth	Marriage	Issue\n
David Armstrong-Jones, 2nd Earl of Snowdon	3 November 1961	8 October 1993 Separated 2020	Serena Stanhope	Charles Armstrong-Jones, Viscount Linley Lady Margarita Armstrong-Jones\n
Lady Sarah Armstrong-Jones	1 May 1964	14 July 1994	Daniel Chatto	Samuel Chatto Arthur Chatto\n

Academic offices\n
Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon House of Windsor Born: 21 August 1930 Died: 9 February 2002\n
Preceded by The Earl of Harrowby \n	President of the University College of North Staffordshire 1956\u20131962\n	College becomes Keele University \n
New title\n	Chancellor of Keele University 1962\u20131986\n	Succeeded by The Lord Moser \n

v t e Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon
21 August 1930 \u2013 9 February 2002 (1930-08-21 \u2013 2002-02-09)
Titles (1960\u20131978)	\n Countess of Snowdon \n Viscountess Linley \n
Family	\n Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon (former husband)\n wedding \n David Armstrong-Jones, 2nd Earl of Snowdon (son) \n Lady Sarah Chatto (daughter) \n George VI (father) \n Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (mother) \n Elizabeth II (sister) \n
Fashion	\n Wedding dress \n Cream Dior dress \n Poltimore Tiara \n
Memorials	\n LMS Princess Royal Class 6203 Princess Margaret Rose \n Princess Margaret Cancer Centre \n Princess Margaret Hospital, Christchurch \n Princess Margaret Hospital, Funafuti \n Princess Margaret Hospital (Hong Kong) \n Princess Margaret Hospital for Children \n Princess Margaret Mountain \n Princess Margaret Road \n Princess Margaret Rose (gladiolus) \n Princess Margaret Rose Cave \n Princess Margaret School \n Princess Margaret Secondary School, Penticton \n Princess Margaret Secondary School, Surrey \n
Popular culture	\n Conversation Piece at the Royal Lodge, Windsor (1950) \n Spitting Image (1984\u20131996) \n Willi und die Windzors (1996) \n The Queen's Sister (2005) \n The Queen (2009) \n A Royal Night Out (2015) \n The Crown (2016\u20132023) \n Ma'am Darling (2017) \n
Related	\n Christmas pantomimes \n

v t e British princesses
The generations indicate descent from George I, who formalised the use of the titles prince and princess for members of the British royal family. Where a princess may have been or is descended from George I more than once, her most senior descent, by which she bore or bears her title, is used.
1st generation	\n Sophia Dorothea, Queen in Prussia \n
2nd generation	\n Anne, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange \n Princess Amelia \n Princess Caroline \n Mary, Landgravine of Hesse-Kassel \n Louise, Queen of Denmark and Norway \n
3rd generation	\n Augusta, Duchess of Brunswick \n Princess Elizabeth \n Princess Louisa \n Caroline Matilda, Queen of Denmark and Norway \n
4th generation	\n Charlotte, Princess Royal and Queen of W\u00fcrttemberg \n Princess Augusta Sophia \n Elizabeth, Landgravine of Hesse-Homburg \n Princess Mary, Duchess of Gloucester and Edinburgh \n Princess Sophia \n Princess Amelia \n Princess Sophia of Gloucester \n Princess Caroline of Gloucester \n
5th generation	\n Charlotte, Princess Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld \n Princess Elizabeth of Clarence \n Queen Victoria \n Augusta, Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz \n Princess Mary Adelaide, Duchess of Teck \n
6th generation	\n Victoria, Princess Royal and German Empress \n Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine \n Helena, Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein \n Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll \n Beatrice, Princess Henry of Battenberg \n Princess Frederica, Baroness von Pawel-Rammingen \n Princess Marie of Hanover \n
7th generation	\n Louise, Princess Royal and Duchess of Fife \n Princess Victoria \n Maud, Queen of Norway \n Marie, Queen of Romania \n Grand Duchess Victoria Feodorovna of Russia \n Alexandra, Princess of Hohenlohe-Langenburg \n Princess Beatrice, Duchess of Galliera \n Margaret, Crown Princess of Sweden \n Lady Patricia Ramsay \n Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone \n Marie Louise, Princess Maximilian of Baden \n Alexandra, Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin \n Princess Olga of Hanover \n
8th generation	\n Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood \n Alexandra, Princess Arthur of Connaught and Duchess of Fife \n Maud Carnegie, Countess of Southesk \n Princess Sibylla, Duchess of V\u00e4sterbotten \n Princess Caroline Mathilde of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha \n Frederica, Queen of Greece \n
9th generation	\n Queen Elizabeth II \n Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon \n Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy \n
10th generation	\n Anne, Princess Royal \n
11th generation	\n Princess Beatrice, Mrs Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi \n Princess Eugenie, Mrs Jack Brooksbank \n Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor \n
12th generation	\n Princess Charlotte of Wales \n Princess Lilibet of Sussex \n
Princesses whose titles were removed and eligible people who do not use the title are shown in italics.

v t e House of Windsor
Generations are numbered by their descent from George V and Mary of Teck
1st generation	\n Edward VIII \n George VI \n Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood \n Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester \n Prince George, Duke of Kent \n Prince John \n
2nd generation	\n Elizabeth II \n Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon \n Prince Edward, Duke of Kent \n Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy \n Prince William of Gloucester \n Prince Michael of Kent \n Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester \n
3rd generation	\n Charles III\" \n Anne, Princess Royal\" \n Prince Andrew, Duke of York\" \n George Windsor, Earl of St Andrews \n Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh\" \n Lady Helen Taylor \n Lord Nicholas Windsor \n Alexander Windsor, Earl of Ulster \n Lady Davina Windsor \n Lord Frederick Windsor \n Lady Rose Gilman \n Lady Gabriella Kingston \n
4th generation	\n William, Prince of Wales\" \n Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex\" \n Princess Beatrice\" \n Edward Windsor, Lord Downpatrick \n Princess Eugenie\" \n Lady Marina Windsor \n Lady Amelia Windsor \n Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor\" \n Xan Windsor, Lord Culloden \n Albert Windsor \n James Mountbatten-Windsor, Earl of Wessex\" \n Leopold Windsor \n Lady Cosima Windsor \n Maud Windsor \n Louis Windsor \n Isabella Windsor \n
5th generation	\n Prince George of Wales\" \n Princess Charlotte of Wales\" \n Prince Louis of Wales\" \n Prince Archie of Sussex\" \n Princess Lilibet of Sussex\" \n
\"Descendant of Elizabeth II and therefor a member of the house of Mountbatten-Windsor, yet officially considered members of the house of Windsor

Authority control databases $\"Edit$
International	ISNI VIAF FAST WorldCat
National	Germany United States France BnF data Czech Republic Portugal Netherlands Latvia Poland Israel Catalonia
Artists	MusicBrainz
People	Trove Deutsche Biographie DDB
Other	IdRef NARA SNAC Te Papa (New Zealand)

Early life

Post-war years

The Margaret Set

'Romances' and the press (1947\u20131959)

Romance with Peter Townsend

Early relationship

Marriage proposal

Press coverage

End of relationship

Marriage to Antony Armstrong-Jones

Separation and divorce

Public life

Charity work

Illness and death

Legacy

Image

Fashion and style

Finances

In popular culture

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Titles and styles

Honours

Honorary military appointments

Non-national titles and honours

Scholastic

Honorary academic degrees

Memberships and fellowships

Civic

Awards

Arms

Issue

Ancestry

References

Bibliography

External links

Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon

What happened with Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon on 31 October, 1955

31 October, 1955