Elizabeth and Margaret have always shown amazing closeness, supporting each other in the most difficult moments. According to those close to the royal family, the monarch "did everything possible to make [the divorce] process less painful" for her younger sister. The relationship of trust between the Queen and the Princess was analyzed in the Channel 5 documentary Elizabeth: Our Queen.
Margaret was married to Anthony Armstrong Jones for nearly two decades before they decided to officially divorce. It was not the first love of the princess - before meeting with the photographers, Her Highness had an affair with Peter Townsend, but the sister of the head of the Church of England could not afford to marry a divorced man. In addition, Margot was afraid of distance from the court and family and the loss of her privileges (read also: The Queen is not to blame: why Princess Margaret did not really marry Peter Townsend).
The documentary's narrator, James D'Arcy, brought audiences up to date, saying: “In the 1950s, the Queen was unable to maintain her sister's relationship with divorced officer Peter Townsend. Despite the tension associated with this circumstance, they remained very close. " Lady Anne Glenconner, Margaret's maid of honor and one of her best friends, said: “Princess Margaret adored the queen and was always deeply devoted to her. She talked about her constantly and was very proud of what the queen was doing and all that. During the divorce proceedings between Princess Margaret and Anthony Armstrong Jones, the Queen gave her great support. [Their] children often came to her and stayed with her. She did everything she could to make Princess Margaret better."
The former maid of honor and confidant of royals also spoke of the late princess's "gruesome" marriage to Lord Snowdon. The spouses constantly fought and cheated on each other. “He gave her a life she was not used to: black leather, motorcycles and meeting all those glamorous people. But I think [later] he got tired of it all,”explained Lady Glenconner.
Violent quarrels turned into unpleasant rumors. Once Anthony, who received the title of count a year after his marriage, ran away from his wife during their joint vacation in Italy (read also: Marriage Embarrassment: Why Princess Margaret's husband ran away from her on vacation). All this gave Margaret a lot of emotion and humiliation.
The Queen's sister paid her husband in the same coin and also made connections on the side. For a long time, the details of Margaret's personal life remained a secret to the general public, but her romance with Roddy Llewellyn, who was much younger than the princess, changed everything (read also: Forbidden Love: How Princess Margaret's Secret Romance Changed the Life of BCS forever). The paparazzi captured the lovers while vacationing on the Caribbean island of Mustique. A huge scandal erupted and Her Highness finally had the opportunity to end the marriage that had caused her so much suffering. It was the first royal divorce in modern British history, and although Elizabeth was saddened by the unpleasant circumstance, she gave her sister significant support during this period.
Photo: Getty Images
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