Calling this documentary the "Secret Life" of Princess Margaret is a bit of a misnomer as one of the things she did not do was to live her life in private.
Six years younger than her sister, the present Queen, Margaret was always regarded as the poor relation, someone to be bossed around but at the same time sustain a positive image of the Royal Family. This she could not do: in the early Fifties she caused a scandal by vowing to marry Group Captain Peter Townsend, another divorcé and former war hero. Fearful of another scandal similar to that of her uncle King Edward VIII in 1936, the family forced her into abandoning her intentions, although it is unlikely that she ever would have taken the plunge and married Townsend anyway.
In the end Margaret married Anthony Armstrong-Jones, another commoner and a photographer by profession. He soon became frustrated with the fishbowl-like existence of a Royal, and pursued his own profession regardless. The marriage soon lost its luster for both partners, and Margaret became increasingly reckless in her consumption of alcohol and cigarettes. To escape the drudgery of life (for her, at least) she regularly vacationed in the Caribbean island of Mustique, where she could indulge herself largely free from the prying eyes of the paparazzi.
Not so in the late Seventies, where Margaret caused a scandal by having a very public love-affair with Roddy Llewellyn, a chancer who clearly appreciated the publicity it brought him. Margaret was very much attracted to him, but Llewellyn did not reciprocate: the affair came to a sad end when he announced his intention to marry someone else, even though the Princess had divorced her husband and was now single.
With little else to do except fulfill the endless round of Royal engagements, Margaret's final years were often spent in solitude with only a whiskey-glass for company. Whereas we might not necessarily sympathize with her - despite everything, she still received a salary of over £200K per annum - this documentary made it clear that the life of a minor Royal was (and continues to be) largely meaningless.
Six years younger than her sister, the present Queen, Margaret was always regarded as the poor relation, someone to be bossed around but at the same time sustain a positive image of the Royal Family. This she could not do: in the early Fifties she caused a scandal by vowing to marry Group Captain Peter Townsend, another divorcé and former war hero. Fearful of another scandal similar to that of her uncle King Edward VIII in 1936, the family forced her into abandoning her intentions, although it is unlikely that she ever would have taken the plunge and married Townsend anyway.
In the end Margaret married Anthony Armstrong-Jones, another commoner and a photographer by profession. He soon became frustrated with the fishbowl-like existence of a Royal, and pursued his own profession regardless. The marriage soon lost its luster for both partners, and Margaret became increasingly reckless in her consumption of alcohol and cigarettes. To escape the drudgery of life (for her, at least) she regularly vacationed in the Caribbean island of Mustique, where she could indulge herself largely free from the prying eyes of the paparazzi.
Not so in the late Seventies, where Margaret caused a scandal by having a very public love-affair with Roddy Llewellyn, a chancer who clearly appreciated the publicity it brought him. Margaret was very much attracted to him, but Llewellyn did not reciprocate: the affair came to a sad end when he announced his intention to marry someone else, even though the Princess had divorced her husband and was now single.
With little else to do except fulfill the endless round of Royal engagements, Margaret's final years were often spent in solitude with only a whiskey-glass for company. Whereas we might not necessarily sympathize with her - despite everything, she still received a salary of over £200K per annum - this documentary made it clear that the life of a minor Royal was (and continues to be) largely meaningless.
