Princess Margaret - Softcover

Heald, Tim

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0753823772 ISBN 13: 9780753823774

Publisher: Phoenix, 2008

Synopsis

Elegant and sophisticated biography of Princess Margaret, the controversial sister of Queen Elizabeth II, the Princess Diana of her day

The almost universal conception is that the life of Princess Margaret (1930-2002) was a tragic failure, a history of unfulfilment.

Tim Heald's vivid and elegant biography portrays a woman who was beautiful and sexually alluring - even more so than Princess Diana, years later - and whose reputation for naughtiness co-existed with the glamour. The mythology is that Margaret's life was 'ruined' by her not being allowed to marry the one true love of her life - Group Captain Peter Townsend - and that therefore her marriage to Lord Snowdon and her well-attested relationships with Roddy Llewellyn and others were mere consolation prizes. Margaret's often exotic personal life in places like Mustique is a key part of her story.

The author has had extraordinary help from those closest to Princess Margaret, including her family (Lord Snowdon and her son, Lord Linley), as well as three of her private secretaries and many of her ladies in waiting. These individuals have not talked to any previous biographer. He has also had the Queen's permission to use the royal archives.

Heald asks why one of the most famous and loved little girls in the world, who became a juvenile wartime sweetheart, ended her life a sad wheelchair-bound figure, publicly reviled and ignored. This is a story of a life in which the private and the public seemed permanently in conflict. The biography is packed with good stories. Princess Margaret was never ignored; what she said and did has been remembered and recounted to Tim Heald.

About this title

About the Author

Tim Heald is a biographer, crimewriter and journalist. He was chosen by Prince Philip to be his biographer on his 70th birthday. He has been a contributor to many television obituaries of royal figures, including Prince Philip, Princess Margaret and the Queen Mother.

From AudioFile

Princess Margaret was never going to be queen of England; nevertheless, the late royal made her own way as an also-ran. The impetuous, religious, musical flip side of her more staid sister, Margaret had a failed marriage and a few highly publicized romances to keep the British press churning. Heald did exhaustive research into Margaret's life, and it's to narrator Lucy Scott's credit that she keeps listeners interested through myriad details of public protocol and private misbehavior. Her upper-class accent is perfectly tuned, as is her pronunciation. She energizes the tabloid articles and the reminiscences of the princess's many friends, which make up the bulk of this evenhanded bio. J.B.G. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine

About this edition

• Publisher: Phoenix
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0753823772
• ISBN 13: 9780753823774
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 392