Vanessa Kirby portrayed the reluctant royal for the first two seasons of the hit TV show, but as the plot moves along in time, new actors and actresses have stepped in to play the famous family. With new faces comes a new exploration into the royals' lives (for better or worse)which, of course, includes Princess Margaret. But unlike some of The Crown s real-life counterparts who have to deal with the show's effect on their current lives, Princess Margaret does not.
How Did Princess Margaret Die? Inside The Life And Death Of Queen Elizabeth II's Sister
Helena Bonham Carter is blessing everyone with her talents on season three of Netflixs The Crown . The British actress takes on the role Queen Elizabeth II s rebel sister, Princess Margaret.
Inside Princess Margaret's Life And Death
Princess Margaret died on February 9, 2002, at the age of 71.
She suffered a stroke the afternoon before her death and developed heart problems throughout the night, according to the royal family's official website . Princess Margaret was taken to the hospital at 2:30 a.m. and died "peacefully in her sleep" four hours later. Her two children, David and Sarah, were with Princess Margaret when she died, and The Queen was kept fully informed of her sister's condition throughout the night.
She left behind two children, but no husband.
ADVERTISEMENT
Princess Margaret married photographer and filmmaker Antony Armstrong-Jones in 1960. (Queen Elizabeth created the title Earl of Snowdon and bestowed it upon her commoner-born brother-in-law on the couple's wedding day.)
The couple wed after Queen Elizabeth refused to support her sisters relationship with Group Capt. Peter Townsend of the Royal Air Forceand it wasnt because of the 16-year age gap, per Town and Country . (This was a major plot point in season one of The Crown, if you remember. Relationship rumors started when Princess Margaret removed a piece of fluff from his jacket at the Queens coronation.)
Peter was married once before and then divorced, a status not encouraged by the Church of England. In fact, the Royal Marriages Act of 1772 prohibited royals from marrying people of divorce without the sovereign ruler's permission, according to History.com . (Obviously, this isn't recognized anymore, because Duchess Meghan Markle married Prince Harry .) Even though Princess Margaret remained with Peter until she was 25 and could go against the Queens wishes, she ultimately chose her royal status over love.
But she and Antony, First Earl of Snowdon, divorced in 1978.
It marked the first divorce in the royal family in 400 years, so one can only assume that came with a lot of press problems. It was especially bad when the divorce happened because of Princess Margarets eight-year affair with landscape gardener Roddy Lewellyn . (Ooh, steamy.)
ADVERTISEMENT
Despite the family drama, Princess Margaret respected her sister to the very end.
Princess Margaret expected her inner circle to call her "maam" or "maam darling," demanding a level of respect, according to Biography.com . And she expected that same level of respectat leastbe shown to her sister, wanting those around her to call Elizabeth "Her Majesty the Queen."
Princess Margaret and Queen Elizabeth II
BusinessInsider USA Images
From childhood to adulthood, the Queen always wanted the best for Princess Margaret . Sure, it was difficult to deal with the negative press and Queen Elizabeth would have probably handled things differently, but the love between the two sisters remained strong.
JOIN OUR PULSE COMMUNITY!
ADVERTISEMENT
Eyewitness? Submit your stories now via social or:
Email: news@pulselive.co.ke