Princess Margaret: A Life of Contrasts - Updated Edition

One of the most controversial royal figures of the twentieth century, Princess Margaret was admired as well as vilified for most of her adult life. However, she was deemed 'witty, wicked and wonderful' by those who knew her well and this charismatic Princess did much to help bring the monarchy and its attitudes into the modern world

Adored younger daughter of King George VI and only sister of Queen Elizabeth II, Margaret was born a pre-war princess whose world was hugely impacted by the strictures and protocol of another age, leading to conflict and misunderstanding in both her private and public life.

As one of the acknowledged beauties of her generation, Princess Margaret's appeal was so great that thousands at home and overseas would camp out in the hope of catching a glimpse of her. During the 1950s her ill-starred love affair with the divorced fighter pilot, Group Captain Peter Townsend, laid the foundation for the 'Margaret legend'. Later, her secret romance with photographer Antony Armstrong-Jones led to one of the most unconventional royal marriages of all time. The combination was to prove explosive. In a highly-charged atmosphere of mutual intransigence, misunderstanding and despair, both looked outside their marriage for love and sympathy. During the 1970s the effects of the Princess' s relationship with Roddy Llewellyn, seventeen years her junior, not only caused the Queen anxiety and gave rise to hostile questions in Parliament, but resulted in Margaret facing a prolonged period of unpopularity.

In this newly updated study, originally undertaken with the full co-operation of Princess Margaret and her inner circle, her authorised biographer Christopher Warwick looks again at this enigmatic royal figure and completes the story of her life in the year of the 20th anniversary of her death. The book is a fitting memorial tribute to an exceptional, yet deeply complex woman.