Queen Elizabeth Allows Roddy Llewellyn to Visit Lover Princess Margaret's Grave on Death Anniversary

Princess Margaret started her affair with Llewellyn, a gardener and aspiring pop star, during her marriage to Antony Armstrong-Jones

Roddy Llewellyn, Princess Margaret
Roddy Llewellyn and Princess Margaret. Photo: Anwar Hussein/Getty

On the twentieth anniversary of Princess Margaret's death, one of her most famous romantic partners visited her final resting place.

Queen Elizabeth granted permission for Roderic "Roddy" Llewellyn to visit her sister's burial site on Wednesday, which marked two decades since Princess Margaret died at age 71, according to Richard Eden of the Daily Mail. Llewellyn, 74, reportedly paid his respects at the King George VI Memorial Chapel within St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle.

Princess Margaret's ashes were interred at the King George VI Memorial Chapel alongside her parents, King George VI, who died in 1952, and the Queen Mother, who died only months after Margaret. It's also expected to be the burial site of Prince Philip, the Queen's husband who died in April at age 99, and the Queen herself someday.

Llewellyn now lives in the South of France, but was in London this week for the funeral of John Rendall, who was once the owner of viral sensation Christian the Lion.

"After two years of having absolutely nothing in my diary, I had two crucial dates — to go to St. George's and to be at John's funeral," Llewellyn reportedly said.

Princess Margaret, Roddy Llewellyn
Roddy Llewellyn and Princess Margaret. Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty

Princess Margaret started her romantic entanglement with Llewellyn, a gardener and aspiring pop star 17 years her junior, during her marriage to photographer Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon. (At the time, Snowdon was having his own affair with Lucy Lindsay-Hogg, a divorced television researcher whom he would later marry.)

In February 1974, Margaret invited Llewellyn to Les Jolies Eaux, her villa on the Caribbean island of Mustique. When a photograph of Margaret and Llewellyn sharing a private moment later landed on the front page of the News of the World, the royal family was at last forced to issue a statement acknowledging the end of the Margaret's marriage to Snowdon. The divorce, which became finalized in 1978, was the first official split in the immediate family of a reigning monarch since King Henry's VIII's annulment.

Llewellyn and Margaret's relationship continued after her separation from her husband in what became in an eight-year romance.

Roddy Llewellyn
Roddy Llewellyn. Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty


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In the documentary Elizabeth: Our Queen, Lady Anne Glenconner, who was one of the Queen's maids during her coronation, revealed that the monarch was in favor of Margaret's extramarital relationship with Llewellyn.

"It was difficult for the Queen, and I felt rather guilty always — having introduced Roddy to Princess Margaret," Lady Anne said in the documentary. "But 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 introducing Princess Margaret to Roddy 'cause he made her really happy.' "

Princess Margaret
Princess Margaret. Les Lee/Daily Express/Hulton Archive/Getty

Helena Bonham Carter, who played Princess Margaret in seasons 3 and 4 of The Crown, told the Sunday Times in 2019 that she met with the real-life Llewellyn: "He came to tea with me and Harry [Treadaway], who plays Roddy. He was so fun and warm — that's what she needed. He's very musical. He started singing a song in my kitchen."

"He said they found each other just at the right time," the actress added. "They were both very lost, both felt somewhat outsiders, just not quite accepted by the family — or not quite good enough. Her confidence was really undermined by the breakdown of her marriage. He also gave her fun at a time when she hadn't been having much."

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