The Princess Who Nearly Destroyed The Monarchy 

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it never ends well for spoiled children...don't know why parents don't get that...but then many parents care more about being 'friends' with their children than guardians and role models. what a sad life.

No matter how wealthy, a life without purpose is a tragedy.

She was extremely rude at a the Hollywood party, at the Beverly Hills Hotel. At the party, she sent a message across the room that she would like Judy Garland to sing and it didn’t sit well with Garland. She was appalled by trivializing her talent and lordly tone. “Go tell that rude little princess that we’ve known each other long enough and gabbed in the ladies’ room that she should skip the ho-hum royal routine and just pop over over and ask me herself.” Said Garland. “Tell her that I’ll sing, if she christens a ship first.” 😂

Aged 45, the princess found herself in the lions’ den, placed between Gore Vidal and Tennessee Williams at Vidal’s lavish 50th birthday party in 1975 at Mark’s Club in Mayfair. Conversation between Williams and Princess Margaret got off to a sticky start. “I’m afraid we can’t talk to each other, Ma’am,” he said, “because we live in such different worlds”. “What world do you live in?” asked the princess. “Are you acquainted with the opera La Bohème, Ma’am? That’s my world.” As it happened, Williams’s suspicion was spot on: a few years before, the princess had confided to Cecil Beaton that she “loathed” plays such as A Streetcar Named Desire. “I hate squalor! Tennessee Williams makes me feel ill!” We know all this because Beaton jotted the conversation down in his diaries, and Williams jotted it down too, and so did Tynan, and so too did Tynan’s former wife Elaine Dundy and so did the birthday boy himself, Vidal. And, the moment her back was turned, one can imagine them imitating her squeaky, high-pitched voice. Someone who was an occasional guest at these soirees told me that the assembled bohemians - actors, writers, artists, musicians - would kowtow to her royal highness while she was present and then make fun of her the moment she left, mimicking her general ignorance, her cackhanded opinions, her lofty put-downs, her absurd air of entitlement. The presence of the princess would endow a party with grandeur; her departure would be the signal for mimicry to commence. Beside these laughing sophisticates, the princess could sometimes appear an innocent. Cecil Beaton referred to her as 'the poor midgety brute' and 'a little pocket monster' Over in France, the most celebrated artist in the world was nursing a tendresse for the young princess. It was in the early 1950s that Pablo Picasso first began to have erotic dreams about her. Not only was she as royal as can be, but she was also his physical type: shorter than him (he was five foot four inches, so would tower over her) with beautiful skin and, he noted approvingly, good strong teeth. Occasionally, he would throw her elder sister into the mix. “If they knew what I had done in my dreams with your royal ladies, they would take me to the Tower of London and chop off my head!” Picasso confided to his friend Roland Penrose. In one way or another, the princess’s encounters with artists never quite went according to plan, perhaps because, when push came to shove, each side would refuse to kowtow to the other. They all follow the same arc: the princess arrives late, delaying dinner to catch up with her punishing schedule of drinking and smoking. Once at the table, she grows more and more relaxed. By midnight, it dawns on the rest of them that she is in it for the long haul, which means that they will be too, since protocol dictates that no one can leave before she does. Then, just as everyone else is growing more chatty and carefree, the princess abruptly remounts her high horse and upbraids a hapless guest for overfamiliarity. “When you say my sister, I imagine you are referring to her majesty the Queen?” In 1970, the film producer Robert Evans flew to London to attend the Royal Command Performance of his film Love Story, in the presence of the Queen Mother. He was later to recall their brief encounter: “All of us stood in a receiving line as Lord Somebody introduced us, one by one, to Her Majesty and her younger daughter. It was a hell of a thrill, abruptly ending when the lovely princess shook my hand. “Tony saw Love Story in New York - hated it.” “Fuck you too,” I said to myself, smiling back.

I think a lot of effort should be spent on preparing the "heir" in line...but maybe even more effort should be spent on "the spare", to make sure they can make a life for themselves with purpose. Too many spares in history have led aimless lives without any real career or guiding light.

I don’t feel sorry for Margaret. She obviously valued the wealth and entitlements being a member of the royal family offered her over her “love” for Townsend.

Mystique wasn’t Princess Margaret’s private island. It was purchased and owned by Lord Glen-Connor, who built Princess Margaret her house on that island.

They can be very proud of how their children turned out despite their family troubles. Our Queen kept very close to them after their Mom passed away.

I feel most sorry for her children. Any photo of them shows two miserably unhappy kids. Townsend could have been a steadying influence on her but money talks!

Desperately lonely , hmmm Margaret made her own life , yet criticised Diana

I don't feel sorry for her at all. She had the opportunity of a lifetime to do something great.....but she didn't.

She was rich but led a pointless life in the end. I feel immense sympathy and compassion for her. Money and titles are not everything in life. Love, real love, and happiness are more important. She sadly didn't have enough of either it seems.

My favourite narrator! I love the Scottish accent and personality 🙂

Sounds like a familiar story. Massively spoiled 2nd children doing whatever they want without any recourse...

‘Lady in Waiting ‘ by good friend and Lady-in-Waiting, Lady Anne Glenconnor, shows a completely different side of Margaret: unfussy, down-to-earth, practical, a problem-solver, happy to live on Mustique in the early days with no running water. Interesting read!

She might have been happier if she hadn’t been so spiteful and such a snob, she looked down on everyone and was notorious for being rude and unbearable to be around.

I feel that she didn’t concentrate on her life. She had an empty life but that was her own choice. Narcissistic people always portray themselves as victims.

Robert Douglas Home …. The Surname is pronounced Hughm/Hugh-em. Also, wasn’t Margaret simply given a property and land on Mustique by Colin Tennant and his wife? I don’t believe that Mustique was HER Island? I often wonder how Margaret managed to scald her feet in the bath. A maid would have drawn the bath, ensuring the water temperature was appropriate. Margaret was a very unpleasant snob - very much like her own mother!

Princess Margaret insisted she be addressed as Your Royal Highness. Hardly someone against the monarchy.

"We thank thee Lord who by thy spirit doth our faith restore When we with worldly things commune & prayerless close our door We lose our precious gift divine to worship and adore Then thou our Saviour, fill our hearts to love thee evermore." Princess Margaret wrote the above quote and it is her epitaph. She seemed to make her peace with God in the end.

I loved this story and narrator. Thank you!

She did like that rogue with the cocktail trick. Rumor has it he was extremely well endowed. He arrived to the island with his girlfriend, but when Margaret invited him into her house, the girlfriend had little to say at that point. I’m not sure if they ever returned to the party.

WHY PRINCESS M EXCLAIMED THAT DIANA WAS A DISGRACE IS BEYOND ME! P DIANA OF WALES WAS A SWEETHEART IN COMPARISON. 😮😮

Any Crown watchers here? The episode where Margaret proves two female relatives from the RF were put away in horrific mental institutions and declared dead on paper. She and another family member found them in horrible condition. They had been born with mental deficiencies. She flew into a rage with the family upon this discovery. I think she felt a sort of kinship with their plight---what to do with the ones that are "different".

I highly doubt that Margaret 'mindlessly' picked lint off Townsend's jacket. She was no dummy and probably had her own little plan..........

Moot point, & strictly my opinion: but I have long believed that Princess Margaret would have benefited greatly from higher education & could have served the Monarchy & the Commonwealth as an educated Governor-General over Canada or Australia or New Zealand. This sort of plan would have given her time to mature & achieve an identity & role appropriate to her background.

I remember her insulting Mayor Jane Byrne of Chicago in 1979 with an incredibly thoughtless comment. Princess Margaret will only be remembered as being stupid.

I've always felt a connection with Princess Margaret; I wasn't named after her but we do share a name. Always felt kinda sorry for her too; being "the Spare" can't be easy (can you hear me, Prince Harry?). Poor lady, she made bad choices and had bad choices made FOR her. Rest in Peace, your Highness, I think you've earned it.

She was spoiled rotten and acted like a brat.

BEST documentary I’ve ever seen regarding this topic. Excellent!!

I recognize your voice from a few things you’ve done, and I enjoyed the pieces. I’m not sure who you do next, but I would appreciate whatever you come up with. I enjoyed your style of just commenting on the lives straightforwardly ! Thank you, again ! Looking forward to more!

Thank you for sharing. I enjoyed the video. Such a sad lonely life.

You told a great story and it’s part of The Crown’s first season that was spot on. Princess Margaret’s time with Townsend and Lord Snowden. It help make that first season great!!!

Thanks so much!!! Love Julie south Africa I am also British .💯💚💚

Robin Douglas-Home is pronounced Douglas- Hume. She didn’t own Mustique, she owned a home on the island the land for which was given to her by Lord Glenconner, owner of the island.

Her unsympathetic attitude toward Princess Diana is what comes to mind when considering all her own infidelities.

I learn so much from this video, thank you!

As always, love this narrator and his easy video presentation.

It seems, many royals are troubled, not just Princess Margaret.

"Nearly destroyed the monarchy"😳 ...com'on 😂😂😂 That' s Too much

Margaret may have been wealthy but all that did was help her indulge in bad habits. Sigh. She didn't receive a good education nor was she allowed to pursue a higher education. She was expected to marry well, have children, be a good hostess, and be quiet and demure. How that must have chafed!! At least Queen Elizabeth II let her daughter pursue her equestrian dreams to become an Olympian. Margaret was "really boxed in" on many levels so it's no wonder she acted out by partying, drinking, smoking, and generally being outrageous whenever she could.

"All she likes is young men." Maybe because they didn't try to control her like everyone else in her life ...?

Royal or not, these people are human- with every human frailty as everyone else.

She would only have lost her place in the succession. Title and income would not have been affected. The Queen was bound by the advice of her ministers.

This was the woman who never acknowledged the coffin of Princess Diana when it passed Buckingham palace

How sad 😔

In no way did she nearly destroy the monarchy! She was way down the line of succession.

Is it wrong that I only like watching the videos that this guy narrates?😁. Maybe it's the accent, or maybe he just does a really good job of explaining things. But whatever it is, he keeps me engaged in the videos he voices. Well done, sir. Cheers.

Princess Margaret of all people knew how it felt to be denied her one true love, however it didn’t stop her being critical, unsupportive and insensitive towards Princess Diana and totally disrespectful by refusing to bow her head as the coffin passed her at Princess Diana’s funeral. That’s when my sympathy towards Princess Margaret ended.

Margaret's tragedy could have been averted if only her father had been responsible enough to use his will to make her financially stable and if he'd given her a path to follow. But the overburdened King depended so much on his "WE FOUR" ideal family construct that he just couldn't think of his favorite daughter, as funny and musically gifted as she was, as a person who would grow up to be an adult. Nobody knew what Margaret should become, so she became nothing.

It is really almost like a tradition within the Windsor family to have this dynamic within every generation: One sibling who has to be the responsible one and take on all the duties and one who seems to cause nothing but scandals. That goes all the way back to Queen Victoria's husband Prince Albert, who had to do better than his philandering older brother Ernst. But we can see how George V and George VI also both had to step up when their scandalous older brothers (Albert Victor and Edward VIII) couldn't. Margaret was only following a pattern, that her family had already gone through for a long time when she was born. As a spare to her responsible older sister Elizabeth, she just ended up in the "scandalous sibling" role. But I should point out that their father did have an affair with at least one married woman before he got married and became the responsible brother. Also, while George VI was the king that the UK needed during the WWII, he did smoke himself to an early grave, which he would pass down to Margaret. It is now clear that Andrew ended up as the "scandalous sibling" among Elizabeth II's four children. Harry is partly this too as he left the duties to his brother William, but I don't see him as scandalous in the same way as many of his relatives were...

Ah Margaret. The original "poor little rich girl." Although sometimes I wish she'd have told her big sis Lillibet to "piss off" now and then.

Armstrong Jones was a vampire He took pictures and opportunities

hello , in the mini series it was said , margaret and townsend did not marry because , he met another woman with whom , he fell in love with...........which story is it........ i think the pampered spoiled margaret , became ill , at the thought of living as a commoner great share , thank you , for sharing🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰..........

Being "one of the most beautiful women in the royal family", isn't saying very much!

I don't know where the tragic death comes from? The woman had smoked endlessly and drunk like a fish for years. Brought it all on herself.

I’m sick of hearing this word “passing”. We die, what is wrong with saying die these days? I am 82 and expect to DIE soon, I won’t be passing anywhere!

The self destructive Princess

The divorce should have been ok considering Henry #8 divorced and killed his wifes.

Tragic all the way around.

I dont know why but i dont think waiting until 25 for an outcome best for everyone, it was the best the Queen could do to reflect the Monarchy. Its actually Margaret herself who chose not to marry Townsend, imagine how he would have felt being made a mockery of by her because he couldn't provide for her standards. Townsend discovered he was a dalliance without a bank account to support her beforehand, I say it worked as it should have. The responsibility was on her for screwing with a married man and it fell on Townsend as well!!

You reap what you sow

Too bad they couldn't find a job for her.

The role of the “spare” has always been to be the scapegoat for the media. Princess Margaret, Prince Andrew and Prince Harry are the media’s personal whipping boys.

She lived a purposeless life of drinking and smoking herself into a early grave. She didnt want to give up the money and status thats why she didnt marry her first love. She could have gone to university and had a career. Her second husband didnt love her. He should not have married any woman considering... And what about her children? She didnt spend much time with them it seems.

She was very much a spoiled , narcissistic woman, thank the heavens it was Elizabeth that was the eldest , Margaret would not of cut it as Queen , she had neither the integrity nor dignity of HRH Queen Elizabeth .Who is worldwide very much missed .❤

She was gorgeous

This is who i think.about every time someone says "you will get over it in time.". She never got over him and became an alcoholic and depressed for the restbof her life.

He had something to offer her that others didn't.

Great doc… whose the narrator, the voice is very good and familiar 👏

I think being the second child is hard. Obviously Harry is suffering from the same issue.

What was said about King George and relationship with his two daughters seems to have been repeated with (then) Prince Charles and his two sons.

Princess Margret didn’t have to give up much at all to marry Townsend, just the crown, which was never going to be hers anyway. Margret didn’t know this till it was to late and she had already sent Townsend away. Margret father King George sixth had made no provisions for his younger daughter in his will, so on his death she was forced to move out of Buckingham Palace and live with her mother until her marriage to Snowden. She had no capital and no inheritance, except her allowance from the Government. Where as her Sister & Mother had great wealth behind them, many homes, plus a Government allowance, which on both women was very substantial. Poor Margret had to believe she amongst her family was the poor relative,eating at their table & living under their roofs. Sadly Margret was a looser in life and she may have grown bitter, as those that followed broken all the rules and had the Queens permission to do so. It never pays to be the spare. I think Harry woke up to that some time back.

Another victim of well meant spoiled upbringing

I have always wondered why she was considered attractive or even beautiful?

DID THE SAME THING TO CHARLES..LOOK WHAT HAPPENED THERE..

We can’t always help who we fall in love with

I’ve decided to subscribe. 🇦🇺👍🏼

Queen Elizabeth has put up with so much!

Spoiled until her end. Sad.

She was so beautiful and feel sad for her lifetime disappointments

Extremely spoiled, not given jobs, nor higher education. Waited on hand and foot. And it just never ended

If the monarchy is so fragile and delicate to be so easily ruined and brought down maybe they need to establish a more secure system of government that is not so easily undermined to where it can collapse so easily because the foundation is not solid enough after more than a thousand years

Pointless life. Going to work everyday to make a rich corp. Richer is not???? Most folks nowadays have pointless lives.

She and her husband must have been good parents as her children are both productive and successful in their chosen field. As for looking unhappy perhaps the camera caught then offguard.

Not being lucky to be the second one, but that’s life

While I don’t think marrying Peter Townsend would have fixed everything, I truly think if she had gotten to marry him it would have changed the route of her life drastically. He knew how to deal with Margaret, and would have been a good influence on her. I think her losing him lead to the beginning of her downward spiral, and made her very very bitter about life. Tony was also a massive sleaze bag and married her for the wrong reasons. She could be a real piece of work and it’s hard to have sympathy for her because of her glamorous lifestyle, but money doesn’t buy happiness and I feel a great deal of sympathy for her. Losing a first love like that, would hurt. Townsend was all she had left of decent male figures in her life after her father passed. That would shatter anyone. Townsend even ended up marrying someone even younger than her that looked exactly like her just years after they both vowed not to marry anyone else. Naive to think he would keep to that, I know. But she loved him from the time she was 14- throughout the rest of her life. That would be heartbreaking for anyone and not everyone gets over lost loves. Some people never do. Especially lost loves like that. I hope she’s resting in peace and found her happiness on the other side.

Interesting video, she didnt stay in any relationship too long it seems b4 getting bored, it was hard being the Queens sister but totally eclipsed by her so I guess her unorthodox royal lifestyle was some sort of rebellion in her mind, but she visited my town here in Ireland once and apparently was a lovely woman , she surely was a very attractive woman in her prime and should have married a royal of her own class. God bless her

reminder six years to go till we get the love letters on august 21st 2030

LOL Margaret & Megnut would be great friends haha

Being born and raised in such Family,and "you" are not the Chosen One is a Life of Pain and Misery.

"Nearly destroyed the monarchy?" She wasn't trying hard enough.

Poor Margaret. They should have let her marry Peter, her first love.

It’s Wallis, not Wallace.

She was my favourite ❤

Dang I didn’t know she was SO crazy!!

*She had a very good life. She did what she wanted, she married who she wanted, she betray who she wanted, she divorced when she wanted etc etc etc.*

Oh my! He let her stay up past her bedtime!! 😧 Someone call CPS! She’s clearly in danger.

The whole Peter thing really screwed her up. She did opt to keep her royal titles and everything that goes with it over marrying Peter. She seemed like a lonely soul when it comes right down to it.