Princess Margaret sparked 'berserk' reaction after being caught in 'intimate moment'

Princess Margaret became entangled in a romantic relationship with her father's former equerry when she was barely in their 20s. While royal aides had suspected the nature of their bond, the couple was forced to reveal their relationship because of an "intimate moment" they shared following the Queen's coronation in 1953. Royal commentator Roberta Fiorito noted the moment sent royal columnists at the time "berserk" and had them put Margaret and Peter Townsend under the spotlight.

Speaking to Royally Obsessed, Ms Fiorito said: "The king sees her being carried up the stairs after a party by Peter Townsend.

"The footmen are all definitely aware, there's moments where there's picnics, him and Margaret are laying together on their own blanket at Balmoral.

"But the public really wasn't because it wasn't weird for Peter Townsend to be around the Royal Family at all times. He's just an equerry, why would they think any different?

"The gossip columnists didn't think anything of it until 1953 when there's this moment after the Queen's coronation."

JUST IN: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle SHOULD lose titles if Duke's memoir attacks royals - poll

She continued: "She picks off either a piece of lint or she brushes off some dirt from his outfit and the journalists spot it.

"The press goes berserk because this intimate moment...they pounced. This set off the whirlwind and poor Margaret, to think back on all she's had to go through in 1952, her father passes away at a young age, her sister becomes Queen.

"They have to move from Buckingham Palace to Clarence House, the Queen has to move from Clarence to Buckingham. Peter Townsend divorces his wife in 1952, she's so young."

News of the relationship soon became one of the first family challenges the new Queen Elizabeth II had to face since succeeding her father on the throne.

SREAD MORE: Palace bans staff from announcing details on Kate's outfits in new Royal Family crackdown

As head of the Church of England, Her late Majesty had to grant permission for her younger sister to marry a divorced man.

The Queen and her sister agreed to wait until Princess Margaret's 25th birthday in 1955 for her to be able to tie the knot with Group Captain Townsend without requiring Her Majesty's permission.

The Government later suggested the princess would have to relinquish her HRH style and her children would not be in line for the throne.

In October 1955, Princess Margaret announced she had decided not to marry Peter Townsend.

DON'T MISS:
Harry 'snubbed' William's offer of crisis talks 'over leak fears'
King Charles to host South Africa's Ramaphosa in first state visit
Thousands of messages sent to King Charles III after Queen's death

In a personal statement in which she confirmed her engagement had been called off, the royal said: "I would like it to be known that I have decided not to marry Group Captain Peter Townsend.

"I have been aware that, subject to my renouncing my rights of succession, it might have been possible for me to contract a civil marriage.

"But mindful of the Church's teachings that Christian marriage is indissoluble and conscious of my duty to the Commonwealth, I have resolved to put these considerations before others.

"I have reached this decision entirely alone, and in doing so I have been strengthened by the unfailing support and devotion of Group Captain Townsend."

Peter Townsend married 20-year-old Marie-Luce Jamagne, whom he had met after being sent to Belgium as an air attaché, in 1959. The pair had two daughters and a son.

Princess Margaret married photographer Antony Armstrong-Jones on May 6, 1960 and welcomed two children, David Armstrong-Jones, 2nd Earl of Snowdon and Lady Sarah Chatto.