If Princess Margaret Had Married Captain Townsend?

[LaDia]

I wonder if Margaret would have stayed married had she been allowed to marry Townsend?
I think modern royals should marry who they want so they won't divorce so much.
Or should they go back to marrying distant cousins and having successful marriages like the queen and prince phillip

 

[CyrilVladisla]

Would Peter Townsend have been given a royal title?

 

[Osipi]

Just offhand, my guess would be that if Townsend had married Margaret, he would have been offered the same title as Armstrong-Jones was.

 

[Leopoldine]

Just offhand, my guess would be that if Townsend had married Margaret, he would have been offered the same title as Armstrong-Jones was.

No, I think Tony's title was specifically Welsh as his heritage had a strain of it.

Townsend's title would have been Earl Chiswick because he was born in....


Whoops. Sorry. I was thinking of Pete Townsend. ? From "The Who".

 

[CrownPrincessJava]

I wonder if Margaret would have stayed married had she been allowed to marry Townsend?
I think modern royals should marry who they want so they won't divorce so much.
Or should they go back to marrying distant cousins and having successful marriages like the queen and prince phillip

Princess Margaret came across as the bratty/spoiled sister of the Queen. I think two things may have happened: a) he would have calmed her ways or b) she would have got bored of him.

Thankfully, we now accept the notion that Royals too can marry whoever they love

 

[Curryong]

Yes, I think it's almost certain that had Prss Margaret married Peter Townsend in the 1950s he would have been offered an Earldom, probably referencing a place important to him or historically to his family.

Would they have been happy together? Doubtful I think. Townsend was a cultured and a religious man but he wasn't fond of show business people or partying or the bright lights in general. I believe that Margaret would have found him stuffy and dull over time.

 

[Countessmeout]

Just offhand, my guess would be that if Townsend had married Margaret, he would have been offered the same title as Armstrong-Jones was.

I agree he would have been given a title but doubtful that it would have been Snowdon. Snowdon was chosen because Tony was Welsh. Though he was born in London, his father's family was from northern Wales. His father and grandfather both served as sheriff of Caernarvonshire (which is now part of the current area of Gwynedd). Part of the Snodonian range, including Snodon, lay in the county. His family owned an estate there which he holidayed at as a child and which he and Margaret often visited.

Peter was born in Burma, I am not sure where his parents were from in the UK. But it seems more likely a title with some link to Peter, would have been chosen.

I wonder if Margaret would have stayed married had she been allowed to marry Townsend?
I think modern royals should marry who they want so they won't divorce so much.
Or should they go back to marrying distant cousins and having successful marriages like the queen and prince phillip

Philip and Elizabeth were said to be a love match, not some arranged family marriage.

Margaret made the wedding that was expected of her, and see how it ended. Charles married the perfect 'virginal, aristocratic' bride, see where that ended. Anne much the same. When allowed to marry for love Charles and Camilla have been happily married over a decade. Tim and Anne have been married for 25 years. Edward is on his first marriage and happy at that.

On the continent there are a number of commoner marriages as well. Of the monarchs or recently abdicated, only Elizabeth, Albert and JC married a fellow royal. Margrethe, Harald, Carl Gustav, Beatrix, Hans Adam (well aristocrat), Henri all married commoners.

Reason many of the older marriages, certainly for people like JC and Sofia, lasted are because of the 'you don't divorce' mentality of their age group. Certainly they aren't the happily blissful marriages of Philip and Elizabeth.

 

[CyrilVladisla]

How did the title of Viscount Linley get created for Antony Armstrong-Jones?

 

[Countessmeout]

How did the title of Viscount Linley get created for Antony Armstrong-Jones?

Antony's full title was Earl Snowdon, Viscount Linley of Nymans. (The of Nymans part is normally left off).

Snowdon was a nod to his father's family, and their home in Wales.

The latter title was a nod to his mother. His mother Anne Messel's family owned an estate in Sussex known as Nymans. Anne and her second husband, Antony's stepfather the Earl of Rosse, used the home. In 1953 when Antony's grandfather Leonard died, the house was given to the National trust. Linley is derived from Anne's maternal grandfather (Antony's great-grandfather) Edward Linley Sambourne, a famous cartoonist.

 

[MaiaMia_53]

It really is very hard to know what would have happened had Margaret and Peter Townsend been allowed to marry. Mr. Townsend himself gave his take on it during a video interview in 1995 (excerpts of which are included in this brief bio in tribute to Margaret at her death in 2002):

Personally, I think it's such a sad and tragic situation. And it's doubly sad that since the deaths of both Townsend and Margaret, a lot of revisionist history about the relationship and Margaret's character has ensued. The above tribute I think provides a more accurate accounting.

You won't find accuracy in the Netflix series The Crown, particularly not regarding the Townsend/Margaret love affair. The actress who plays Margaret has a facial resemblance, but she's too tall. In addition, Margaret is portrayed in an overly stereotypical way, exhibiting behaviors as a young lady that did not actually develop in her until after she was devastated by being forced to give up Townsend. Also egregiously, the actor who plays Townsend, despite carrying a facial resemblance, he's too short. He's almost shorter than the actress who plays Margaret! In actuality, Townsend was much taller and more boyish-looking than he was portrayed in The Crown.

And if you listen to Townsend's heartfelt comments in the above video, I think its very apparent that 'forced' is the right word to describe why Margaret gave up 'the love of her life.' Someone commented earlier that Townsend had a retiring character whereas Margaret was gay and liked to party. Once again, I would suggest not believing everything that you see portrayed in The Crown.

Margaret became more willful, rebellious and self-destructive after having to give up Peter Townsend. She and Antony Armstrong-Jones had a torrid sexual affair prior to marrying. In fact, it's possible that Margaret may not have married Armstrong-Jones at all, since they were seeing other people even while they were still having an affair with each other. Margaret had become loose and reckless. It was only when she learned Peter Townsend was marrying a young Belgian girl who resembled her, that Margaret decided to wed Antony Armstrong-Jones -- he just happened to be the handy fellow of the moment.

 

[XeniaCasaraghi]

I like to think that they would have stayed married but I'm not sure. I don't think they would have grown to be as bad a couple as Margaret and Tony.
But Margaret was still young when she fell in love with Tony and her father had just died. It is sad but I think Margaret wad manipulated into giving up the man she loved. But it was through her suffering and the suffering of others like The Duke of Windsor and even Prince Charles that BRF members are able to marry for love.

 

[Denville]

IMO if she had married Townsend she would not have been happy and grown bored with him.. and problaby ended up divorced once it was acceptable, in the 1970s

 

[sm1939]

IMO if she had married Townsend she would not have been happy and grown bored with him.. and problaby ended up divorced once it was acceptable, in the 1970s

I agree with you , it wouldn't of lasted , she would of got bored

 

[Curryong]

They might not have ended up divorced but Margaret might well have strayed. I think Townsend seems to have found the ideal wife for him in his second marriage, placid, domestic, agreeable to a quiet life, not at all restless. She resembled Margaret physically I think but not in any other way.

 

[Denville]

They might not have ended up divorced but Margaret might well have strayed. I think Townsend seems to have found the ideal wife for him in his second marriage, placid, domestic, agreeable to a quiet life, not at all restless. She resembled Margaret physically I think but not in any other way.

Oh I think she'd have become bored with him, and had affairs.. and he might have found her less charming when actually married to her..