Sunday would have marked
the 92nd birthday of the Queen’s only sibling, her younger
sister Princess Margaret, who sadly died in 2002.
There’s been renewed interest
in the vivacious Princess’ life over the last few years, following
her portrayal on the hit Netflix show The Crown and in books and
other programmes about her, including the BBC documentary Elizabeth and
Margaret: Love & Loyalty, which aired in 2020.
As well as being remembered
for her fun-loving nature and devotion to her family, the late royal is also
remembered for her love affair with Peter Townsend, the equerry to King
George VI.
Before marrying Anthony
Armstrong-Jones and welcoming two children with him, Margaret’s first love was
Peter Townsend. But what do we know about the man behind the ill-fated romance?
Group Captain Peter Wooldridge
Townsend was a Royal Air Force officer, and was equerry to Princess Margaret’s
father, King George VI, until the King’s death in 1952.
He then held the same position
with Queen Elizabeth until 1953. Peter married his first wife, Rosemary Pawle,
in 1941 and the pair had two sons, Giles and Hugo.
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Peter was the King’s equerry
The marriage eventually fell
apart due to his wife’s affair with John de László, whom she married following
their divorce. Unfortunately, things were considerably more complicated with
Peter, since divorcees weren’t allowed to remarry in the Church of England,
of which the Queen is the head.
As such, the couple were urged
to wait until Margaret turned 25 and no longer needed her sister’s permission
to marry.
Despite waiting the allotted
time, the pair still met with problems within the monarchy. A new plan was
proposed to allow Peter to marry the Princess by removing her from the line of
succession, but keeping her royal titles and public duties.
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Princess Margaret broke off the engagement in 1955
However, Margaret went on to
release a statement confirming that she had broken off the engagement, writing:
“I would like it to be known that I have decided not to marry Group
Captain Peter Townsend.
“I have been aware that,
subject to my renouncing my rights of succession, it might have been possible
for me to contract a civil marriage. But mindful of the Church’s teachings
that Christian marriage is indissoluble and conscious of my duty to the
Commonwealth, I have resolved to put these considerations before others.
“I have reached this
decision entirely alone, and in doing so I have been strengthened by the
unfailing support and devotion of Group Captain Townsend.”
Following the end of their
engagement in 1955, Peter went on to marry Marie-Luce Jamagne in 1959, and the
pair had one daughter, Isabelle. Reflecting on his relationship with
Princess Margaret in his memoir, Time and Chance, he wrote: “I
simply hadn’t the weight, I knew it, to counterbalance all she would have
lost.”
Peter died from stomach cancer
at the age of 80 in 1995.
