[Warren]

Originally Posted by Idriel

Lord Snowdon: Royal refusenik
His whole life has been a counterblast to royal dignity, royal mystique, royal protocol and royal unassailability
By John Walsh Published: 27 August 2005 Full article

Thanks for this Idriel; an interesting story. But I find it odd that even today there is this sense of condescension when stating that Lord Snowdon did "ordinary" things; for example this quote from the article:

"When not building up his thespian portfolio, he inspected the low-life purlieus of Covent Garden market where the traders unloaded sacks of fruit at dawn, and the pubs and butchers' shops of the East End."

As if "respectable" people never went to the Covent Garden market, and certainly not to East End butcher shops. What a rebel Lord Snowdon must have been! Although note that it doesn't say he actually bought a beer or a sausage, just that he "inspected". And I won't even go into the use of "low life" to describe the market traders.
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