Princess Margaret love triangle: why Elizabeth II’s younger sister was unhappy in marriage

The younger sister of Queen Elizabeth always had a rebellious, headstrong character. In the early 1950s, she fell head over heels in love with RAF Colonel Peter Townsend.

Their feelings were mutual, but the relationship had to be hidden, because Peter was not only simple and 15 years older than the princess, but also a married man.

When the love triangle became known to the press, Townsend divorced and proposed to Margaret. Until the age of 25, a princess needed the permission of her older sister, the queen, and then could make her own decisions.

However, the palace did not like this union, and Margaret was given a condition: in the event of a marriage with Peter, she would lose her royal title and corresponding income. And… the princess decided to keep her position.

After separating from Townsend, Margaret married photographer Anthony Armstrong-Jones. Despite the fact that he was simple, they did not interfere in this marriage, although it cannot be called happy. Why? Yes, because there was no love in him, you could say. Just a happy picture.

Margaret lasted a long time, but in 1978, after 18 years of marriage, the couple divorced. And this separation was scandalous because its cause was treason: Princess Margaret was caught having an affair with Baronet Roddy Llewellyn.

Today we know of many cases of divorce in the royal family, but back then it was nonsense. The last one to “play with” divorce was Henry VIII, who reigned from 1509 to 1547. The King of England was married six times! Can you imagine?

And then, 400 years later, it was Margaret who decided to be the first of the princes to dissolve the marriage and literally open Pandora’s box. After that, one by one, the members of the royal family began to destroy the unions they no longer wanted to be a part of.

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