Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon (21 August 1930 – 9 February 2002) was the younger daughter of King George VI of Britain and Elizabeth the Queen Mother, and the sister of Queen Elizabeth II of Britain.
Biography[]
Margaret was born in Glamis Castle, Angus, Scotland on 21 August 1930, the daughter of Prince Albert, Duke of York and Elizabeth, Duchess of York. She spent much of her childhood in the company of her older sister, the future Queen Elizabeth II of Britain, and her parents. Margaret became second in line to the throne when her uncle Edward VIII of Britain abdicated from the throne in 1936 and her father became the new King of the United Kingdom, with Elizabeth becoming the first in line. During World War II, the sisters stayed at Windsor Castle, and she continued her education during the war years. After the war's end, she fell in love with the Royal Air Force officer Peter Townsend, who was married at the time of their meeting in 1952. Townsend later divorced his wife and proposed to Margaret, but the Church of England disapproved of his status as a divorcee, and the British government saw him as an unsuitable husband for Margaret. In 1960, she married photographer Antony Armstrong-Jones, and they had two children before divorcing in 1978. Afterwards, Margaret was romantically associated with several men, giving her negative publicity. A heavy smoker, Margaret was chronically ill, and she died at the King Edward VII Hospital in London on 9 February 2002 at the age of 71.
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