Princess Margaret (1930-2002) part 1: to May 2007 - Page 5

Dennism · #81 01-02-2004, 11:34 PM

"Princess's note revealed By PAUL THOMPSON

A DRAMATIC letter in which Princess Margaret asked the Queen for permission to marry divorced war hero Peter Townsend was revealed yesterday.

Drafted by officials on Margaret’s behalf, the 1955 note also renounced the Princess’s claims to the throne — and those of her descendants. The letter, unsealed at the National Archive, formed part of crisis plans drawn up by the Government in case Margaret decided to wed Group Captain Townsend. He was a dad of two twice her age. And his romance with Margaret — then 25 and the glamorous Princess Di of her day — had the nation enthralled.

The letter read: “I have come to the conclusion that in the circumstances, the best course for me to follow is to marry P.T. and give up all my rights to the Succession.”

Prime Minister Anthony Eden also sent a secret cable to Commonwealth leaders, seeking their approval for any marriage.
But in the event heartbroken Margaret, who died in 2002, chose duty before love and split with Townsend.
The letter was never sent"

Dennism · #82 01-03-2004, 12:02 AM

"Princess Margaret would have been allowed to keep her royal title if she had married Group Captain Peter Townsend, official papers reveal.

The then Prime Minister, Anthony Eden, was more sympathetic to the marriage than previously thought, according to papers just released by the National Archives.

Only days before she herself announced, on 31 October 1955, she would not be marrying the divorced former Battle of Britain pilot, the government had drawn up a statement to Parliament announcing a marriage.

The only conditions set, the documents indicate, were that she should give up her rights to succeed to the throne and that she would be married in a register office.
There was no suggestion she would have to go abroad, give up the title of Her Royal Highness or her Civil List allowance. This gave her £6,000 a year, to which would be added another £9,000 upon marriage.

There was even an opinion from the Lord Chancellor that the Royal Marriages Act of 1772, under which the rights of the Royal family to marry are restricted, did not apply to her. The implication is the princess, who was 25 at the time, might have been able to marry Gp Capt Townsend anyway if she had forced the issue. The government was ready, at first to repeal the Act, and then to amend it to apply to a sovereign's children only.

The file has been released by the National Archives following the death of the princess in 2002. Cliff Edwards, an official at the National Archives, commented: "Princess Margaret seems to have been given a free hand. The government was looking for ways of enabling her to marry."

On 28 October 1955, the government included in a secret "Summary of Procedure" for a marriage the text of a letter the princess would send to the Queen reads:
"I have come to the conclusion that in all the circumstances the best course for me to follow is to marry Peter Townsend and to give up my rights to the succession. I recognise this will not be possible unless legislation can be passed to facilitate it, but I earnestly hope that Your Majesty and Parliament may be pleased to take whatever steps are necessary to enable my wishes to be realised." An earlier version would have had her say: "I have come to the conclusion that it is necessary for my future happiness that I should marry Peter Townsend."

In a letter prepared for transmission to senior Commonwealth prime ministers, Eden (himself remarried after a divorce) said even though the Queen would not give formal permission for the marriage because of Townsend's divorce, "Her Majesty would not want to stand in the way of her sister's happiness". The letter notes: "It is Princess Margaret's wish that she should continue to be live in the United Kingdom and to carry out her public duties as a member of the Royal Family." It does not offer objections in principle to that wish but does add that it would "depend on the reaction of public opinion, throughout the Commonwealth, to her marriage".

Three years later Princess Margaret married photographer Anthony Armstrong-Jones, who became the Earl of Snowdon. The couple later divorced."

pdas1201 · #83 11-19-2004, 04:26 AM

Pics of Princess Margaret's children...

1) Lady Sarah Chatto

2) David, Viscount Linley

pdas1201 · #84 11-19-2004, 04:27 AM

some more....

james · #85 03-18-2005, 08:02 PM

Has anyone seen the recent reports that Margaret had an illegitimate child with Peter Townsend. A 50 year old accountant from Jersey (That's Jersey in the channel Islands for American posters) named Robert Brown has revealed some dynamite information in relation to this which I read in the highly respected Daily Mail newspaper in Britain. This man claims to be the child concerned and, although his reasons regarding his claim are too numerous to detail, certain aspects of his argument seem too strong to discount. Primarily, he is willing to take a DNA test, and secondly, the Palace have refused to deny his claims. Additionally the day after the article was printed the Mail reported that they had been contacted by a 71 year old man who was quoted as saying, " I am surprised this story has taken over 50 years to break. As a 14 year old errand boy (working at an estate in Wales which is now owned by The National Trust) I remember a baby arriving at the house. The senior servants, who witnesed all the goings on above stairs, told us that the baby was Princess Margaret's and Peter Townsend's and that it was going to be adopted out".

rchainho · #86 07-15-2005, 11:22 AM

Did Princess Margaret have Welsh love child?

http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/0100n...name_page.html

lashinka2002 · #87 07-16-2005, 12:27 PM

If this is true it would explain alot about princess Margaret.

lashinka2002 · #88 07-16-2005, 03:57 PM

It seems this alleged son would have been born around 1950. Does anyone know what was going on in Margarets life at that time? Does anyone have pics of her that may prove a pregnancy?

**Elspeth** · #89 07-17-2005, 02:24 AM

Well, 1950 is the year that Princess Anne was born, so I assume Margaret would have been doing more public duties than usual that year since Princess Elizabeth didn't go out in public when her pregnancies were visible.

lashinka2002 · #90 07-18-2005, 12:42 AM

Why didn't princess Elizabeth go out when her pregnancy was visible?

kelly9480 · #91 07-18-2005, 01:48 AM

In those days, you didn't go out when you were visibly pregnant. "Confinement" meant just that. There are some photos of EIIR when visibly pregnant, but not many, and none past the point where she seems to be more than six months into the pregnancy.

**Elspeth** · #92 07-18-2005, 01:53 AM

As I recall, it was considered fairly daring and "modern" of Princess Anne and the Princess of Wales to be out and about during the last stages of their pregnancies.

How times change!

lashinka2002 · #93 07-18-2005, 11:32 AM

Oh my!! What are you suppose to do with yourself in hiding for so long?

Georgia · #94 07-18-2005, 12:40 PM

Pregnant? Do you really believe that? Surely with the new freedom of information act as well as the 30year rule we would know this for sure? I think it seems a little far fetched that Princess Margaret could give birth and for it to be quiet all these years. As Elspeth said in 1950 Elizabeth was pregnant with Andrew so margaret would have been out and about more often. I suppose Maragret could have been pregnant with Peter Townsend's baby, however I don't believe the pregnancy would ever have gone ahead.

iowabelle · #95 08-09-2005, 07:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Georgia

Pregnant? Do you really believe that? Surely with the new freedom of information act as well as the 30year rule we would know this for sure? I think it seems a little far fetched that Princess Margaret could give birth and for it to be quiet all these years. As Elspeth said in 1950 Elizabeth was pregnant with Andrew so margaret would have been out and about more often. I suppose Maragret could have been pregnant with Peter Townsend's baby, however I don't believe the pregnancy would ever have gone ahead.

The 1950 baby was Anne. Andrew came in 1960, just before Margaret's wedding.

tiaraprin · #96 08-10-2005, 01:22 AM

Here is another shocker. According to one book I read (I have to find it) Princess Margaret was encouraged to enjoy lesbian relationships so that she would remain virginal but yet release her sexual energy. The Queen Mum knew of this!!

**Elspeth** · #97 08-11-2005, 02:42 AM

Well, depending on the reliability of this source, the story could be anything from true to a total fabrication. I'd have thought that the Queen Mother, with her horror of the wrong sort of publicity, wouldn't have wanted to encourage anything that might have even the minutest chance of causing embarrassment in the press.

iowabelle · #98 08-11-2005, 02:17 PM

I think I have read that before too.

Back in the 1950's Margaret was friends with the daughter of the American ambassador. I think her name was Charmain Douglas, and she lived a pretty adventurous lifestyle (which sucked Margaret along in its wake). To be fair, I'm not sure if Charmain is one of the people in this "plot", but she was pretty lively for the times.

portergirl · #99 08-11-2005, 07:38 PM

Thank you for the beautiful photos of Princess Margaret! I'd always thought she was beautiful but kind of forgot about it over the years. I always felt rather sorry for her because she wasn't allowed to marry the love of her life, Capt. Townsend, and as a result, it was the heartbreak that affected her whole life. How simple that seems today - but then it would have been shocking to marry an unsuitable person! I don't know that Princess Margaret was that sympathetic to Diana, but she should have been, because she was basically beaten down for her fun personality and "wild" ways (meaning she smiled and was friendly, unlike many others in her family) just like Diana was.