'The Crown' Season 3: The real story behind Princess Margaret's stormy divorce from Lord Snowdon
Sketching the lives of the Royal Family from 1964 to 70, season three of 'The Crown' is all set to be back on Netflix. As the show returns, one of the major plotlines to look forward to will be Princess Margaret's split from photographer-filmmaker husband Antony Armstrong-Jones.
In the new season, 'Harry Potter' fame Helena Bonham Carter has taken the baton from Vanessa Kirby as the older Princess Margaret. Excited to take on the role, Bonham Carter told Variety, “I’m not sure which I’m more terrified about – doing justice to the real Princess Margaret or following in the shoes of Vanessa Kirby’s Princess Margaret. The only thing I can guarantee is that I’ll be shorter [than Vanessa].” Meanwhile, Ben Daniels will play Antony Armstrong-Jones, also known as Lord Snowdon.
With Lord Snowdon's series of affairs coming to the notice of the royals through the second season, it is quite obvious that the third season will underline the scathing split between the two and their subsequent divorce. The two exchanged vows on May 6, 1960, in what seemed to be a fairytale romance but Queen Elizabeth II already had hints about the holes in their relationship.
Together the two seemed to be one of Royal Family's most glamorous couples. Known as the first paparazzi princess, Margaret got attracted to the British photographer too soon without a background check after her doomed romance with Group Captain Peter Townsend. It was Lord Snowdon's wit and charm that got her carried away.
Little did she know that he had multiple affairs alongside his marriage — be it, with his long-term girlfriend, the actress Jacqui Chan or another gorgeous actress Gina Ward. His mysterious disappearances soon came into the eyes of Margaret, but by then it was too late.
What came as a shocking blow was when Tony even conceived a child with a former girlfriend, Camilla Grinling – who was married to his best friend, Jeremy Fry – after the trio's promiscuous threesomes. Their first child, David, was born in 1961 and their daughter Sarah was born in 1964, after which the cracks were visible. Both wanted their own ways, they had different ideas of a comfortable home and there was a furious rage in their arguments.
While Tony's affairs were plenty, Margaret too had a series of flings with pianist Robin Douglas-Home, a handsome Cambridge friend of Tony’s named Anthony Barton, and Roddy Llewellyn. Their public spat and extra-marital affairs soon made headlines and the couple decided to part ways in 1976 amid scandalous tabloid rumors.
While Tony married actress Lucy Lindsay Hogg in 1978, he was also subsequently dated a journalist named Ann Hills in a liaison that continued for over 25 years. Already a raging alcoholic, Princess Margaret's health declined and in 1993, she contracted pneumonia. In the later years, she withdrew to private life and was no longer the subject of media scrutiny.
