Photo: Hulton Archive/Getty
Princess MargaretandAntony Armstrong-Jones' marriage was far from charmed, but it was one of the most historically significant in royal history.
The pair, who met at a dinner party in the late ’50s, were unconventional from the start, conducting theirlove affair in secretuntil their engagement announcement in February 1960. Three months later, the couple tied the knot.
Though the couple welcomed two children together, David Armstrong-Jones in 1961 and Lady Sarah Chatto in 1964, their marriage was largely riddled with strife and infidelity, with both the Countess and the Count of Snowdown reportedly engaging in numerous extramarital affairs.
In July 1976, they became the very first senior royal couple to end their marriage since King Henry VIII had his marriage to Anne of Cleves annulled 438 years prior in 1540.
In doing so, Margaret would pave the way for other royals, such as her nephewKing Charles IIIPrince Charlesand niecePrincess Anne, to do the same. “She did tarnish the family’s reputation but she cleared the way for others to get out of unhappy marriages,” ex-royal BBC correspondent Jennie Bond said in a Channel 5 documentary titledPrincess Margaret: A Rebel Without a Crown.
Keep reading to find out more about Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones' relationship.
1958: Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones meet
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Princess Margaret met her future husband at a dinner party in 1958. It wasn’t the photographer’s first run-in with the royal family, however. Two years prior, he was commissioned to take the photographs forPrince Charles' 8th birthday party, and the Queen reportedlyloved the results so muchthat she brought him back one year later to photograph her family at Buckingham Palace.
1958: Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones begin a secret love affair
The royal and Armstrong-Jones were discreet in the early days of their union.
“Nobody knew about their relationship, there wasn’t a whisper about it,” Lord Snowdon’s biographer, Anne de Courcy, wrote. “She would see him in secret at his studio and yes, he would join her at parties, but no one could pinpoint which man she was interested in. The press focused more on the ones who were seen to be eligible. They didn’t think of Tony, who was often in the background.”
October 1959: Antony Armstrong-Jones visits Princess Margaret at Balmoral
1959: Antony Armstrong-Jones proposes to Princess Margaret
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The photographerproposed to the princesswhile visiting Wildcome Manor, the home of his friends Jeremy and Camilla Fry, who had offered the space as a “safe house” to the couple, according to de Courcy. Armstrong-Jones reportedly popped the question with a ring of rubies and diamonds that wasin the shape of a rosebud— a nod to his future bride’s middle name of Rose.
Marrying a royal wasn’t an easy decision for Armstrong-Jones, perMa’am Darlingbiographer Craig Brown. “There was so much he would have to give up, not least his other girlfriends, one of whom confided to a friend that Tony had wept on her bare breasts at the prospect of getting married to royalty,“Brown said.
February 26, 1960: Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones announce their engagement
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The coupleannounced their intentto wed on Feb. 26, 1960 — one week after the birth of Margaret’s nephew,Prince Andrew.
May 6, 1960: Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones get married
Princess Margaret and Armstrong-Jonessaid their “I do’s"in a historic ceremony on May 6, 1960, marking the first time a king’s daughter had married a commoner in 400 years.
1960: Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones go on a romantic honeymoon
Historic Royal Palaces
The couple embarked on asix-week honeymoonto islands including Trinidad and Antigua aboard the royal yacht Brittania.
May 28, 1960: Antony Armstrong-Jones has a child with Camilla Fry
While Armstrong-Jones was rumored to have many affairs throughout the course of his relationship with Princess Margaret, the most shocking was perhapsthe one he had with Fry, the wife of his best friend Jeremy. Their daughter, Polly Fry, was born on May 28, 1960, less than one month into Armstrong-Jones' new marriage. Jeremy was presumed to be the father, butDNA tests confirmed in 2004that Armstrong-Jones was Polly’s biological dad.
October 1961: Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones receive new titles
One year after becoming a member of the royal family, Armstrong-Jones wasgiven the official titleof Earl of Snowdon, while his new wife became the Countess of Snowdon.
November 1, 1961: Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones welcome their first child
May 1, 1964: Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones welcome their second child
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Three years later, a little girl, Sarah, was born to the couple via C-section. She was born at the couple’s home, then Kensington Palace.
1966: Princess Margaret begins an affair with Anthony Barton
1967: Antony Armstrong-Jones takes an unconventional photo of Princess Margaret
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Armstrong-Jones photographed his wife and kids a few times throughout their relationship. He shot Margaret’s 29th birthday portrait in 1959 and snapped another photo of her in 1967. Both showed the princess with bare shoulders.
1972: Antony Armstrong-Jones reportedly has an affair with Lucy Lindsay-Hogg
The Earl of Snowdon reportedlytook up with Lucy Lindsay-Hogg, a woman he would later marry and father a child with, in 1972.
1973: Princess Margaret meets British garden designer Roddy Llewellyn
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In 1973, Princess Margaret met Roddy Llewellyn at the Café Royal in Edinburgh, Scotland, whom she would embarkon her own eight-year relationshipwith.
1976: Princess Margaret andRoddy Llewellynvacation in Mustique
Photos of Margaret and her Llewellyn alone in their swimsuitshit the front pageofNews of the Worldin 1976, causing a major scandal for the royal family. It was these photos that Armstrong-Jonesreportedly citedas his reasoning for leaving his already-strained marriage.
March 20, 1976: Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones separate
April 6, 1978: Buckingham Palace supports Princess Margaret amid her affair
Shortly after her separation was announced,Buckingham Palace saidthat the princess would retain her privileges as a royal despite her public affair.
May 10, 1978: Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones announce their divorce
Two years later, anotherofficial statementwas issued from Kensington Palace announcing that the pair had decided to end their marriage after all. “Her Royal Highness, the Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, and the Earl of Snowdon after two years of separation have now agreed that their marriage should formally be ended. Accordingly, Her Royal Highness will start the necessary legal proceedings.”
The princess’s spokesman also issued a statement at the time, noting that Margaret had no plans to remarry. “The marriage has broken down and the couple have lived apart for two years,” he said. “These are obviously the grounds for divorce. Naturally, Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon will continue to see each other on the same friendly basis as they have with each other over the last two years.”
July 11, 1978: Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones' divorce is finalized
By July, the couple’s split was official. It was a historic event, as theirs marked thefirst royal marriage to endin the immediate family since King Henry VIII, who annulled his marriage to Anne of Cleves in 1540 — more than 400 years earlier.
December 1978: Antony Armstrong-Jones marries Lucy Lindsay-Hogg
Just months after ending his marriage to the princess, the Earl of Snowdon remarried Lindsay-Hogg, a woman he wasreported to have been involvedwith during his marriage to Margaret.
October 8, 1993: David Armstrong-Jones marries Serena Stanhope
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Princess Margaret and the Earl reunited at St. Margaret’s Church in Westminster, London, in 1993 forthe marriage of their first-bornchild to Serena Stanhope.
July 14, 1994: Lady Sarah Chatto marries Daniel Chatto
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The following year, the exes were photographed together once more at St. Stephen’s Walbrook in London, this time for the wedding of their daughter, Lady Sarah Chatto, to Daniel Chatto.
February 9, 2002: Princess Margaret dies
February 15, 2002: Antony Armstrong-Jones attends Princess Margaret’s funeral
15 years later,Armstrong-Jones diedat 86 years old.
source: people.com
