Princess Margaret's Tragic Real-Life Story

Featuring royals like Princess Margaret, Netflix's The Crown goes through great lengths to make the show as historically accurate as possible, despite being considered fictional. That's not to say liberties are never taken, of course. Members of the royal family live extraordinarily private lives, and, as such, there are just some things we're never going to really know about them. "There's an interesting balance to be struck between trying to be truthful and authoritative and not being too syrupy," Matt Smith, the actor who stars as Prince Philip in Seasons 1 and 2, told Forbes. "This is the reason that [the royal family has] endured — they've never allowed us behind the palace walls." 

If you're a fan of the series, you've already met Princess Margaret, Queen Elizabeth II's younger sister and only sibling, played by Vanessa Kirby in the first and second seasons and Helena Bonham Carter in Seasons 3 and 4, which are set during a dramatic time in the princess' life. While The Crown has delivered a mostly accurate portrayal of Margaret's life, her real-life story is well worth knowing. This is the tragic true tale of Princess Margaret.

Princess Margaret was beloved by her father, King George VI. "He used to look at her as if he couldn't believe this enchanting thing was his daughter," a courtier told The Telegraph. The daughter of one of the late king's courtiers added, "The King spoiled her dreadfully. She was his pet ... she was always allowed to stay up to dinner at the age of 13 and to grow up too quickly." But her father was one of the only ones smitten by her.

"The courtiers didn't like her much — they found her amusing but ... she used to keep her parents and everyone waiting for dinner because she wanted to listen to the end of a programme on the wireless," the courtier's daughter revealed. "I remember my father despairing of her."

Even Margaret and Princess Elizabeth II's governess, Marion Crawford, thought the young princess crowded out her older sister. "We really are trying to separate them a bit because Princess Margaret does draw all the attention and Elizabeth lets her do that," she's quoted as saying. Crawford even requested Margaret be excluded from parties so Elizabeth could attend without her.

Princess Margaret began a secret relationship with Group Captain Peter Townsend in the early '50s. Townsend was married, but later divorced his wife and proposed to the princess. Margaret said yes, but they continued to keep their romance quiet.

"At the time," History explained, "divorce was considered a major scandal, and it was unthinkable for a royal to marry both a commoner and a divorced man." If Margaret were to marry a divorcee, it could appear as if Queen Elizabeth condoned divorce — something that was very much disapproved of by the Church of England.

But, with their plan to marry, the couple couldn't keep it a secret forever. Due to the Royal Marriages Act of 1772, Margaret would need to seek the queen's permission to marry. If Queen Elizabeth II denied her request, Margaret could then petition Parliament after one year's time, but, as History highlighted, "that would have caused a scandal even more dramatic than her affair with a divorced man." In the end, Margaret and Townsend broke up. The princess issued a statement saying she'd "resolved" to put "the Church's teachings" about marriage and her "duty to the Commonwealth" above all else.

Despite Princess Margaret's decision to settle for Billy Wallace, the two did not marry. According to The Telegraph, the couple never made a formal engagement announcement because their relationship ended soon after they'd gotten engaged. Wallace apparently admitted to Margaret that he'd had a brief affair while vacationing in the Bahamas. "I had my chance and blew it with my big mouth, or she would have become Mrs. Wallace and I would have been able to handle her," he is quoted as saying.

Two years later, Margaret met photographer Antony Armstrong-Jones at a dinner party. Later, Armstrong-Jones was hired to photograph Margaret — and their romance began. "Nobody knew about their relationship, there wasn't a whisper about it," Anne de Courcy, author of Snowdon: The Biography, told Town & Country. It was as if they were hiding in plain sight. Because Armstrong-Jones was not seen as a suitable match for the princess, the press didn't think much of him attending parties with Margaret. When the couple announced their engagement in 1960, royal courtiers were both shocked and displeased. They thought Margaret should've married someone of her own class — not a "commoner."

In 1961, before their relationship took a turn for the worse, Antony Armstrong-Jones and Princess Margaret welcomed their first child, David. Soon after their second child, Sarah, was born in 1964, though, their relationship began faltering. According to The Evening Standard, Margaret caught her husband talking on the phone to a woman, and it was clear that they were more than just friends. It seems, while Armstrong-Jones was away for work, he was also involved in a series of flings with other women.

"The flings used to upset her a lot," Anne de Courcy, author of Snowden: A Biography, revealed to Town & Country. But Lord Snowden wasn't the only one cheating. "She had some too," de Courcy confirmed, "but never as long as his. They weren't revenge affairs, she just wanted to feel desired."

Both Armstrong-Jones and Margaret continued to have their separate affairs into the '70s, but they were able to keep their liaisons from the press. That is, until Margaret and her lover, landscape gardener Roddy Llewellyn, were photographed vacationing together in the Caribbean, and, before long, their images were plastered on the covers of tabloids.

Princess Margaret did not lose her royal title after divorcing Antony Armstrong-Jones, but she did lose — and miss out on — a lot of other things throughout her life. "When you look at Princess Margaret, she never found the happiness she should have done," royal expert Ingrid Seward told Express. "She was always completely in the shadow of her elder sister, because her elder sister was Queen. And Princess Anne said she used to feel like an also-ran." That is, a loser. 

Andrew Duncan, the author of The Reality of Monarchy, told the publication what Margaret once told him: "In my own humble way I've always tried to take some of the burden off my sister." We may never know for sure, but you can't help but wonder if Margaret's ability to draw attention as a child was purposeful, a way to provide some relief to her older sister. Although she loved her big sis dearly, Margaret also felt that she could never quite compare to the queen. "I guess I'll be second best to my grave," a confidante of Margaret quoted her as saying.

Princess Margaret's life was not only marred by tragedy, but also by poor mental and physical health. As her marriage was collapsing in the '70s, Margaret was reported to have suffered a nervous breakdown. Margaret was also a heavy drinker, which led to her developing hepatitis in the mid '80s. In addition to drinking heavily, Margaret was a chain smoker. According to The Guardian, Margaret began smoking cigarettes as a teenager. After her father passed away, Margaret began to smoke even more — having as many as 60 cigarettes a day.

By the early aughts, Margaret had suffered a cancer scare, repeated migraines, the aforementioned hepatitis, bronchitis, laryngitis, pneumonia, and several strokes. In 2002, after developing heart complications from a fourth stroke at the age of 71, Margaret died "peacefully in her sleep," Buckingham Palace revealed (via Time). Margaret's funeral was held on the 50th anniversary of her father's death and at the same location, St. George's Chapel in Windsor.