Princess Margaret: The Formative Years

Princess Margaret was born on August 21, 1930 in the midst of a lightning storm at Glamis Castle, the home of her mother’s family. Her Scottish mother, the former Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, it is said, felt strongly that her second child be born in her homeland. She was given the name Margaret Rose. Margaret is an old Scottish name belonging to Saint Margaret, wife of Scottish King, Malcolm III. Rose is the symbol of the House of York. It is also a fact that the then Duchess of York’s sister, Lady Leveson Gower, one of Margaret’s godparents, was named Rose. The first impact the trend setting Princess would have on the world appears to be the revival in the popularity of the name Margaret – and even Margaret Rose - for a generation of girls.

Most of the information we have about Princess Margaret’s childhood is via a book called "The Little Princesses" which was written by Marion Crawford or "Crawfie", as she was affectionately called, her governess of 17 years. Crawfie describes Princess Margaret as the baby of the family that her Nanny, Allah, tried to keep a baby far too long. She sees her as a highly intelligent person with many artistic gifts, especially the gift of mimicry, which she used to entertain everyone she came in contact with. A willful, forthright yet charming young girl who could wrap her father around her finger and make the older statesman who visited blush. She was described as being very affectionate to her father who never rejected her spontaneous hugs, but was incapable of reciprocating them. She was said to be a real practical joker too – quite the opposite of her dutiful elder sister, Elizabeth, who always chose her words carefully and behaved with the utmost decorum at all times.

A good deal of her childhood was spent at Windsor Castle during the Second World War. Here Margaret devised many pranks to help make those monotonous days more bearable for her, the troops protecting the castle and its inhabitants and anyone else she would meet. Some of her high jinx included hiding the gardener’s tools and then watching from a nearby bush, as he would wonder what had happened to them. It is reported that she even hid one of their corgi’s onstage for Princess Elizabeth to come upon during a rehearsal of one of their pantomimes. She was a very spirited young woman who was known to flirt with the soldiers as well.

Margaret was only 16 in the winter of 1947 when she embarked on a tour of the commonwealth with her family. This was the tour that would see her sister turn 21 and pledge her life to the people. It was also the tour that proved her father’s health was not good. The pressure of stepping onto the throne in the wake of his brother’s abdication and the strain of the war had taken its toll upon George VI. Margaret, from the glimpses we see in the letters she sent to her governess, seems to have come into her own on this trip as well. She seemed to have an increased understanding of the roles and responsibilities expected of her and her family.

Group Captain Peter Townsend, a man whom fate would have play an important role in Margaret’s future, accompanied the family on this tour. For now he was 16 years Margaret’s senior, married with two sons and took little notice of the young princess. He was there to do a job and did so. It is said he possessed many of the qualities Margaret so admired in her father and was well liked by the family.

Margaret established herself soon thereafter as the oft-imitated fashion icon of the day. She hobnobbed with the "Hollywood" set. She was named to the "best dressed lists" - once tied with the Duchess of Windsor and another year in the top ten without Wallis who to this day is known for her personal style. People complained that all she did was party, but in truth, she was just a young woman enjoying all the world had laid before her – especially after her austere youth. Her parents were supportive of their daughter during this period, as they knew she was always ready to do her rounds of royal duties and frequently filled in when her father was too ill to make an engagement or when her sister was incapacitated due to pregnancy. Margaret grew ever closer to her father when Elizabeth, her sister, married Philip Mountbatten and moved to Clarence House. She loved her sister, was proud of her marriage and children and remained close to her and her burgeoning family.

Margaret’s special relationship with her father was also the subject of the opening chapters of another of Marion Crawford’s books, "Margaret: The Story of a Modern Princess". Here Crawfie describes not only the pride that father and daughter took in each other, but the devastating affect that George VI’s death had on Princess Margaret. (The same stories are told in Theo Aronson’s "Princess Margaret: A Biography" and in Anne Edwards, "Royal Sisters".) Princess Margaret described her pain in a letter to Lady Astor. "You know what a truly wonderful person he was, the very heart and centre of our family and no one could have had a more loving and thoughtful father." During her long period of mourning she would go to St. Paul’s Church, Knightsbridge, to listen to the bishop’s lectures on the Christian faith in search of peace. This loss is what I believe to be the catalyst for Princess Margaret’s relationship with an older man, Group Captain Peter Townsend, the man that is still known as her one true love.

About five years after their family tour of the Commonwealth on February 6, 1952, George VI died in his sleep, Princess Margaret was 21 years of age and the Queen Mother appointed Peter Townsend Comptroller of the Household - a position that gave him much contact with Margaret. In his memoirs Peter Townsend notes they found increasing solace in each other’s company as she mourned the loss of her father and he the failure of his marriage. On December 20^th of that year Peter Townsend and his wife were divorced on the grounds of her ‘misconduct’. Peter was given custody of their two sons; his ex-wife married her lover shortly thereafter.

In early 1953, Peter accepted his next royal assignment at Sandringham. Here he claims he and Princess Margaret ‘rediscovered each other’ on another level. He further claims their love was declared several months after that in Windsor Castle. Their declaration of their love for each other and desire to be together started the powers that be into motion. Per the Royal Marriages Act of 1772, until she was 25 Princess Margaret would need the Queen’s permission to marry, after that she would require Parliament’s. Her Uncle’s, Edward VIII, desire to marry a divorcee had changed the fate of her family. That was still fresh in the mind of the new Queen.

The couple managed to keep their love secret during the next few months. It wasn’t until Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation on 2 June 53 that a reporter noticed the familiar behavior of the two parties. On 30 June, Princess Margaret left with her mother on official duty. Group Captain Peter Townsend was sent on assignment to Belgium the day before her return. It was assumed the flames of love would cool in Peter’s absence, but it seems that his absence only made their love grow stronger. Upon his return, the lovers were reunited, but only briefly. They both realized what the reality of their union would be. She would give up her life as she knew it. He would feel forever guilty for not being able to provide her with the style of living to which she was accustomed. He assisted her in writing her "official" decision.

Princess Margaret lost the two men she loved deeply in a very short period of time. She made a very painful decision to put duty and family ahead of love. She made this decision knowing full well what her Uncle had suffered – the exile from family and homeland - upon his abdication for love. She knew too her family’s personal sacrifice in restoring the respect of the monarchy. She knew her mother believed this sacrifice shortened the life of her beloved husband, Princess Margaret’s father. She was a young woman to have made such a courageous decision. She was fortunate to have the support of her family and her lover. I wonder if she had to do it all over again would she make the same decision? What do you think?

Well, there you have it, part one of Princess Margaret’s life. It seems to go from picturesque to tragic in such a short time. The sister’s have always had my respect in their handling of this delicate matter. Elizabeth never forbade her sister the option of marrying Peter she just spelled out the rules and asked Margaret to consider carefully before making her decision. Margaret seemed to respect Elizabeth and the precarious position she found herself in as well.

All the best,