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8
Dark Princess
‘One of the functions of the royal family in the minds of the people is to be the continuing story of Peyton
Place… And of course in that story there is always somebody who is not actually behaving as they should
be… The dark princess, if you like… the archetypal princess [has] lovely golden hair, but her sister has black
hair… And she is the subject of the moon, not of the sun…’
Lord Charteris of Amisfield, interviewed on The Windsors TV series, 1994
Even before the Coronation Elizabeth had known that her sister was in love with a
divorced man sixteen years her senior and that she herself might soon be confronted by
a crisis which could cause a public sensation for the monarchy on the lines of 1936.
Early in the new year Margaret and Group Captain Peter Townsend had informed her
that they were in love and wished to marry. And it was on Coronation Day itself, just
after Elizabeth, radiant and regal, had left the Abbey church, escorted by her husband,
that Margaret, standing in the Abbey porch waiting for the carriage to take her back to
Buckingham Palace, flicked a piece of fluff off Townsend’s uniform, an affectionately
possessive gesture which alerted the world to another sensational royal romance.
The Margaret–Townsend affair was the first example of the dangers of the family
policy, initiated by Queen Elizabeth, of ‘ostriching’, of ignoring a potentially dangerous
situation until it became explosive, of ‘non-interference’ and ‘non-confrontation’. Queen
Victoria would have taken a line of positive interference and prevention, forestalling
any threat of danger to the monarchy. The romance was a time-bomb waiting to
explode, but no action had been taken in time to defuse it. Despite the apparent
closeness of her ties with her family, Elizabeth, occupied with her own romance and
marriage, then living her separate happy life at Clarence House, had remained unaware
until too late of her sister’s developing love for her father’s equerry. The Queen Mother
closed her eyes to what was happening under her nose, and when Lascelles tried to
warn her about it, she not only ignored it but was angry with him in the ancient royal
tradition of’Shoot the messenger’. Lascelles then did nothing more about it until forced
to when the situation became public. When Elizabeth was told about it, her reaction was
human and sympathetic. ‘The Queen was always nice to Princess Margaret about Peter
Townsend,’ a friend said. ‘She did her best to understand the situation but her own life
was so uncomplicated and had always been straightforward that she couldn’t
understand why Princess Margaret had to go and fall in love with a married man…’