Princess Margaret's Relationship with Roddy Llewellyn, in Photos
The Queen's sister's romance is the subject of a particularly dramatic episode of The Crown this season.
In the final episode of The Crown's third season, showrunner Peter Morgan introduces the audience to Roddy Llewellyn, the 25-year-old gardener who would go on to become Princess Margaret's boyfriend. Margaret and Llewellyn were together for the better part of a decade, and while the paparazzi first uncovered their relationship, they weren't often photographed together. Here, a few candid moments of their relationship caught on camera.
February 01, 1976
While Margaret and Llewellyn met in 1973, their relationship wasn't made public until the couple was photographed by paparazzi together while on holiday on the island of Mustique. The pictures created quite the scandal back home in the U.K., as Margaret was still married to her husband, Antony Armstrong-Jones.
February 01, 1976
Llewellyn eventually issued a statement about the photos, and the media's fixation on their relationship.
"I much regret any embarrassment caused to Her Majesty the Queen and the royal family, for whom I wish to express the greatest respect, admiration and loyalty," it read. "Could we please be permitted by the media, who have besieged us, to carry on with our work and private lives without further interference."
February 27, 1978
Margaret and Llewellyn dated for nearly a decade, and their relationship was certainly a factor (though not the only one) in her divorce from Lord Snowdon. Here they are on their way to Heathrow Airport before departing for another holiday in the Caribbean.
1978
During their relationship, Llewellyn launched a music career, though he had difficulty with the press, who were more curious about his personal life than his songs.
1991
Eventually, Margaret and Llewellyn broke up, and in July of 1981, he married Tatiana Soskin. But they still sometimes saw each other, here they are at a London flower show in 1991.
1996
Llewellyn now lives a relatively quiet life out of the public eye, but in 2002, he reflected on his relationship with Margaret in an interview with the Telegraph."I didn't think about the consequences of such a high-profile affair," he said. "If we all had crystal balls, we'd all know which horse to back, wouldn't we? I was just following my heart."
Here, he says hello to the Princess at the Chelsea Flower Show in 1996, several years after they broke up.
October 20, 1998
While in the beginning, the Queen reportedly had a difficult time accepting her sister's relationship, she came to realize that Llewellyn had made Margaret happy while they were together.
In the documentary Elizabeth: Our Queen, Lady Anne Glenconner recounts a conversation she had with the British monarch. “After Princess Margaret’s funeral, the Queen, she said, ‘I’d just like to say, Anne, it was rather difficult at moments, but I thank you so much [for] introducing Princess Margaret to Roddy ’cause he made her really happy,’” Glenconner said.
Here, Margaret stands in front of Llewellyn as she arrives for a performance of the Royal Ballet.
As the digital director for Town & Country, Caroline Hallemann covers culture, entertainment, and a range of other subjects
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