Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon

Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon CI GCVO GCStJ (Margaret Rose; 21 August 1930 – 9 February 2002), was the only sibling of Queen Elizabeth II and the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.

Princess Margaret
Countess of Snowdon (more)
Margaret circa 1965
Born	Princess Margaret Rose of York (1930-08-21)21 August 1930 Glamis Castle, Angus, Scotland
Died	9 February 2002(2002-02-09) (aged 71) King Edward VII's Hospital, London, England
Burial	15 February 2002 Ashes placed in the Royal Vault, St George's Chapel; 9 April 2002 Ashes interred in the King George VI Memorial Chapel, St George's Chapel
Spouse	Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon (m. 1960; div. 1978)
Issue	David Armstrong-Jones, 2nd Earl of Snowdon Lady Sarah Chatto
Full name Margaret Rose Windsor
House	Windsor
Father	George VI
Mother	Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon

Early life

Princess Margaret was born on 21 August, 1930 in Glamis Castle, Scotland. She was the first member of the royal family in direct line of succession to be born in Scotland since the 1600s.

During the 1950s, she was in a relationship with Peter Townsend which gained much press coverage hoping they would marry, but ultimately they did not.

In 1960, she married the photographer Anthony Armstrong-Jones, who was made Earl of Snowdon. They had two children, David Armstrong-Jones, 2nd Earl of Snowdon born in 1961 and Lady Sarah Chatto born in 1964. After they divorced in 1978, she was known as Princess Margaret Countess of Snowdon; the Earl's new wife was simply the Countess of Snowdon. Armstrong-Jones died in January 2017, almost 15 years after Margaret.

Illness and death

Her later life was marred by illness. She suffered a nervous breakdown in the 1970’s, and in 1978, she fell ill whilst visiting Tuvalu, which resulted in her requiring hospital treatment in Sydney, Australia. In January 1985, after years of heavy smoking, she had an operation to remove part of her left lung. In January 1993, she was admitted to hospital with a bout of pneumonia. In February 1998, she suffered a mild stroke in her holiday home at the Caribbean island of Mustique. A year later in the same place, she suffered scalds to her feet in a bathroom accident which reduced her mobility, sometimes using a wheelchair as a result. She had further strokes in early 2001, and her public appearances became less frequent.

Around January 2002, it was announced Princess Margaret was admitted to hospital.

She died on 9 February 2002 of a stroke while in King Edward VII Hospital. She was cremated so she could be buried next to her beloved father, George VI at St George's Chapel. Her mother, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, survived her by just over a month, died on 30 March 2002, aged 101, and she, too, was buried in St George's Chapel.

Titles and styles

• 21 August 1930 – 11 December 1936: Her Royal Highness Princess Margaret of York
• 11 December 1936 – 3 October 1961: Her Royal Highness The Princess Margaret
• 3 October 1961 – 9 February 2002: Her Royal Highness The Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon

Princess Margaret, Countess Of Snowdon Media

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  Margaret (front) with her grandmother Mary and sister Elizabeth, May 1939

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  Elizabeth and Margaret performing at Windsor Castle in a 1943 production of the pantomime Aladdin

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  Princess Margaret appeared on a 1943 postage stamp in New Zealand

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  Margaret (far right) on the balcony of Buckingham Palace with her family and Winston Churchill, 8 May 1945

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  Following Elizabeth II's coronation, the royal family appeared on the balcony of Buckingham Palace on June 2, 1953. Margaret can be seen fourth from right, exactly next to the boys in black.

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  Margaret greeting schoolchildren at the opening of The Princess Margaret School in Barbados, 9 February 1955

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  Margaret with her husband Lord Snowdon, May 1965

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  Margaret shakes hands with Mayor of Amsterdam Gijs van Hall, 14 May 1965