Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon (1930-2002)


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Princess_Elizaveta

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Jet-set friends got Princess Margaret 'barred' from US
By Andrew Alderson and Peter Day
(Filed: 14/09/2003)


Princess Margaret was barred by British diplomats from making an official visit to America in the early 1970s because of the wild behaviour of her entourage during an earlier visit, according to newly-released documents.

Lord Cromer, the British ambassador to America, did not want the Princess in the country because he was concerned that it would generate more harmful publicity for the Royal Family. His reservations were passed on to Buckingham Palace in 1973 when Lt Col Frederick Burnaby-Atkins, the Princess's private secretary, was deciding on the venue for a royal tour.


Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon in 1973
The Princess, known for her racy behaviour before and after her marriage to Lord Snowdon in 1960, had apparently caused controversy during a 1965 visit to America with her husband.

The views of Lord Cromer, who died in 1991, are revealed in a memo from Lees Mayall, the Vice-Marshal of the Diplomatic Service, who was responding to her private secretary's desire to organise a foreign tour for the Princess.

According to the newly released documents at the National Archives in Kew, which have been made public under the "30-year rule", Lt Col Burnaby-Atkins complained that a visit by Princess Margaret to Western Australia in 1972 had lacked purpose.

"She still has a hankering to go to Canada (and possibly the USA) having last done a big thing there some time ago. She would, I think, take on anything challenging."

The desire from the Princess to travel on a second official visit to North America was ended by Lord Cromer, who was ambassador to Washington from 1971-74. He made clear that he did not want a repeat of the raucous scenes of 1965 when the couple mixed with the Hollywood set.

Mr Mayall wrote in a memo to the Foreign Office committee on royal tours: "You will remember that Lord Cromer is not at all keen on having the Princess in the United States, possibly for some time to come. This is mainly due to the behaviour of some of HRH's friends, who tend to take such visits very lightly."

Lord Cromer had based his concerns on reports of the 1965 tour that were given to him by Sir Patrick Dean, the British ambassador to America at the time.

That visit attracted mixed publicity as Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon toured the west and east coasts of America. During a visit to Los Angeles, the couple met several film stars, including Paul Newman, Judy Garland, Grace Kelly and Elizabeth Taylor.

William Hamilton, the anti-monarchist Labour MP, had been scathing about the £30,000 cost of the visit, equivalent to £350,000 today. During the tour, the Princess upset more than one Hollywood star.

Judy Garland took exception to a message given to her at a party in Beverly Hills. An aide told Ms Garland that the Princess would like to hear her sing and the actress reportedly called her a "nasty, rude little princess", and said: "Tell her I'll sing if she christens a ship first."

Grace Kelly objected to the Princess's comment: "You don't look like a movie star." The actress is said to have replied: "Well, I wasn't born a movie star."

At a White House reception in Washington, the Princess was the guest of President Lyndon B. Johnson. Back in Britain, newspapers carried headlines about "jet-set parties" and asked: "Who pays?"

It is unclear which friends had behaved in a way to gain such disapproval from British diplomats. The timing of the visit was, however, before she struck up her controversial friendship with Roddy Llewellyn, three years before formally separating from her husband.

Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon had gone to America in 1965 after an invitation from Sharman Douglas, the daughter of a former US ambassador to Britain. Miss Douglas organised a glamorous programme for the party that was in addition to the official visits.

Afterwards, Sir Patrick Dean's report hinted strongly at some of the shenanigans during the private part of the tour over which he had little or no control. "They worked and played hard," he said of the royal couple. "It was a mistake that so much of their time was spent with and organised by Miss Sharman Douglas, though she did her best, after her own fashion, to make sure the visitors had a gay and amusing time.

"However, the keynote was the 'jet set' and it was not always possible to persuade the public that HRH and Lord Snowdon were serious as well as gay people.

"Hosts must understand that it does the royal party no good to turn the period of rest into a jamboree of actors and photographers, as was the case with the visit to the Douglas family."

Princess Margaret did not visit the USA in 1973, touring Barbados and Germany instead. She did, however, make later official visits to the US. She died last year aged 71.

Lord Snowdon said yesterday that he could not remember which friends had joined him and the Princess on the 1965 tour of America. "I have no idea why there should have been any objection to what went on," he said.

Buckingham Palace said yesterday that it was "not appropriate to comment on historical government advice to the Royal Family".

Christopher Warwick, a biographer of Princess Margaret, said: "Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon were the Royal Family's representatives of the Swinging Sixties. They did wave the flag for Britain in 1965, but it's fair to say that the visit was more pleasure than duty."
 
Princess Margaret was such a beautiful young lady :flower:

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Princess Margaret and Princess Elizabeth
Their royal highnesses Princess Margaret and Princess Elizabeth walk side by side after leaving the unveiling ceremonies of the memorial statue to Franklin D. Roosevelt.

© Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS

Date Photographed: April 10, 1948
Location Information: Probably London, England, UK
 

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Royal Family Leave Jubilee Service
The Duke and Duchess of York, their daughters Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret, and the Duke and Duchess of Kent at a Jubilee Service at St Paul's Cathedral in London, 1935.

© Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS

Date Photographed: 1935
Location Information: London, England, UK
 

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Royal Family at Coronation
Prince Charles with his Aunt, Princess Margaret ® and his Grandmother, Elizabeth the Queen Mother, at the 1953 Coronation of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II.

© Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS

Date Photographed: 1953
Location Information: Westminster, London, England, UK
 

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Princess Margaret of the United Kingdom
A young Princess Margaret of the United Kingdom wears a spring bonnet.

© Bradley Smith/CORBIS

Photographer: Bradley Smith
Date Photographed: ca. 1950s
 

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Royal Family at Windsor
King George VI with the Queen and their daughters Elizabeth (l) and Margaret in the the grounds of the Royal Lodge at Windsor.

© Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS

Photographer: Lisa Sheridan
Date Photographed: July, 1946
Location Information: Windsor, Berkshire, England, UK
 

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Portrait of Princess Margaret and Elizabeth Cuddled Together
Original caption: London, England: Latest Portrait Of Britain's Princesses--From war pressed England comes this charming photograph of her two best loved young ladies--the two young Princesses, daughters of King George VI. This portrait was made April 17th, on the fourteenth birthday of Princess Elizabeth, who is heiress presumptive of the British Crown. Little Princess Margaret Rose is nine years old.

© Bettmann/CORBIS

Date Photographed: May 2, 1940
Location Information: London, England, UK
 

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Queen Elizabeth with Daughters
Original caption: 3/1944: Queen Elizabeth and daughters Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret Rose. Photograph. BPA 2 #5805

© Bettmann/CORBIS

Date Photographed: March 9, 1944
Location Information: Probably London, England, UK
 

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Princesses Broadcast
Princess Elizabeth and her sister Princess Margaret at the microphone for Elizabeth's first broadcast. She is the future Queen Elizabeth II of England.

© Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS

Date Photographed: October 13, 1940
Location Information: England, UK
 

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Princesses With Corgi
Princess Elizabeth reads to her sister Princess Margaret and Jane the corgi by a window in Windsor Castle. Princess Elizabeth is the future Queen Elizabeth II of England.

© Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS

Date Photographed: June 22, 1940
Location Information: Windsor, England, UK
 

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Royal Family in Coronation Robes
King George VI and Queen Elizabeth of England with their daughters Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret in their coronation robes.

© Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS

Date Photographed: May 1937
Location Information: London, England, UK
 

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The Royal Family
King George VI and Queen Elizabeth of England with their daughters Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret.

© Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS

Date Photographed: 1948
Location Information: England, UK
 

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George VI As The Duke Of York With The Duchess Of York & Princess Elizabeth & Pr
Albert and Elizabeth, Duke and Duchess of York, with their daughters Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret. The Duke is the future King George VI of England and Princess Elizabeth is the future Queen Elizabeth II of England.

© Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS

Date Photographed: 1931
Location Information: London, England, UK
 

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The Duchess Of York With Daughter
Original caption: 1930-London, England: The Duchess of York, now the Queen Mother Elizabeth, is shown with her infant daughter, Princess Margaret Rose, in this file photo taken in 1930.

© Bettmann/CORBIS

Date Photographed: 1930
Location Information: London, England
 

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Princess Margaret
Princess Margaret, aged 10, on her pony Greylight after riding in Windsor Great Park.

© Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS

Date Photographed: 1940
Location Information: Windsor, Berkshire, England, UK
 

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Princess Margaret
Princess Margaret reads on the couch with her corgi Jane, at Windsor Castle.

© Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS

Date Photographed: June 22, 1940
Location Information: Windsor, Berkshire, England, UK
 

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Princess Margaret Plants a Tree
The young Princess Margaret plants a tree in the grounds of the Royal Naval College in Dartmouth, during a visit where she accompanied her parents, the King and Queen, and her sister, Princess Elizabeth.

© Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS

Date Photographed: July 23, 1939
Location Information: Dartmouth, Devon, England, UK
 

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Royal Pantomime
Princess Margaret acting in the 1941 Royal Pantomime, Cinderella at Windsor Castle.

© Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS

Date Photographed: December 21, 1941
Location Information: Windsor, Berkshire, England, UK
 

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Princess Margaret Aged 6
Princess Margaret aged six sits on the wall at the Royal Lodge at Windsor with the Welsh House behind her.

© Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS

Date Photographed: June, 1936
Location Information: Windsor, Berkshire, England, UK
 

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Queen with Princesses
The Queen with her daughters Princess Margaret (l) and Princess Elizabeth at Windsor Castle.

© Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS

Date Photographed: 1941
Location Information: Windsor, Berkshire, England, UK
 

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Royal Family Group
The Duchess of York with her daughters Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret in the garden of the Royal Lodge at Windsor.

© Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS

Date Photographed: June, 1936
Location Information: Windsor, Berkshire, England, UK
 

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Royal Family Watches Parade
The young Princess Elizabeth watches a parade of Boy Scouts at Windsor Castle with her sister Margaret and her parents, the King and Queen.

© Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS

Date Photographed: 1932
Location Information: Windsor, Berkshire, England, UK
 

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Queen Mary with her Granddaughters
Queen Mary poses with her granddaughters Princess Margaret (l) and Princess Elizabeth during a visit to St. Catherine's Docks in London.

© Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS

Date Photographed: May 8, 1939
Location Information: London, England, UK
 

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Princesses in Brownie Uniforms
Princesses Margaret (l) and Elizabeth in Brownie uniforms with their mother the Queen and their grandmother Queen Mary (far l).

© Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS

Date Photographed: 1939
Location Information: London, England, UK
 

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Princess Margaret
Princess Margaret in costume for a Christmas show at Windsor Castle.

© Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS

Date Photographed: December, 1944
Location Information: Windsor, Berkshire, England, UK
 

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Young Princesses and Their Mother
Original caption: Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret Rose, of England, with their mother, the Duchess of York, pictured arriving at the Royal Box at the Albert hall, London, England, recently, when the two Princess, for the first time, sang Christmas carols at a public concert.

© Bettmann/CORBIS

Date Photographed: December 23, 1934
 

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Princess Margaret
Princess Margaret in costume for the Royal Pantomime, Aladdin, at Windsor Castle.

© Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS

Date Photographed: 1943
Location Information: Windsor, Berkshire, England, UK
 

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Princess Margaret
Princess Margaret reading at Buckingham Palace.

© Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS

Photographer: Lisa Sheridan
Date Photographed: July, 1946
Location Information: London, England, UK
 

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Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret
Princesses Elizabeth (l) and Margaret with their dog Chung at the Royal Lodge at Windsor.

© Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS

Date Photographed: April 11, 1942
Location Information: Windsor, Berkshire, England, UK
 

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