She was the younger sister and only sibling of Queen Elizabeth II. Margaret was born when her parents were the Duke and Duchess of York, and she spent much of her childhood with them and her elder sister. Her life changed at the age of six, when her father succeeded to the British throne following the abdication of his brother Edward VIII. Margaret's sister became heir presumptive , with Margaret second in line to the throne. Her position in the line of succession diminished over the following decades as Elizabeth's children and grandchildren were born.
During the Second World War , the two sisters stayed at Windsor Castle despite suggestions to evacuate them to Canada. During the war years, Margaret was too young to perform official duties and continued her education, being nine years old when the war broke out and turning fifteen just after hostilities ended. From the s onwards, Margaret became one of the world's most celebrated socialites , famed for her glamorous lifestyle and reputed romances. Most famously, she fell in love in the early s with Peter Townsend , a married RAF officer in the royal household.
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In , her father died , her sister became queen, and Townsend divorced his wife. He proposed to Margaret early in the following year. Many in the government believed that he would be an unsuitable husband for the Queen's year-old sister, and the Archbishop of Canterbury refused to countenance her marriage to a divorced man. The couple had two children, David and Sarah. Margaret's marriage to Lord Snowdon became strained, with both of them engaging in extramarital affairs.
They separated in and divorced in Margaret did not remarry. Margaret was a controversial member of the British royal family. Her divorce received much negative publicity, and her private life was for many years the subject of speculation by media and royal watchers.
Her health deteriorated in the last twenty years of her life. She was a heavy smoker for most of her adult life, and had a lung operation in and a bout of pneumonia in , as well as three strokes between and Margaret died in aged 71, after suffering her fourth stroke. Princess Margaret was born at p. Clynes , was present to verify the birth. The registration of her birth was delayed for several days to avoid her being numbered thirteen in the parish register.
