The Queen was incredibly close to her younger sister, Princess Margaret. However, the pair’s relationship suffered in the late 1950s when Margaret had hoped to marry Group Captain Peter Townsend.
Townsend had served as an equerry to King George VI, after serving in the RAF in the 1930s and 1940s. In 1950 he was made Master of the Household and in 1952 became the Queen Mother’s comptroller.
Throughout the years, he had grown incredibly close to Princess Margaret and they had developed a romantic relationship. When the relationship actually started is widely debated, with some listing 1947 while others not until well into 1950. Townsend was married with two children; he separated from his first wife in 1951.
In April 1953, Townsend proposed to the Princess. Although Margaret herself accepted the proposal, she was still required to ask her sister’s permission as Sovereign, due to the 1772 Royal Marriages Act. The Queen was unable to grant her permission; the Sovereign is Head of the Church of England, and at that time, the Church did not recognise divorced persons with living spouses. The Cabinet was also required to give their permission, and they also refused.
The Queen recommended that they wait until 1955 when Margaret would be 25 and no longer required to ask the Sovereign’s permission. Courtier, Sir Tommy Lascelles, arranged for Townsend to be sent to Brussels as air attaché to the British Embassy in the hopes that separating the couple would help.
While she would have been able to marry in August 1955, no announcement came forward. In October of that year, Margaret eventually released a statement explaining that she would not be marrying Townsend, referencing the Church’s stance.
Margaret would go on to marry Anthony Armstrong-Jones (made 1st Earl of Snowdown) in 1960. Their marriage was rocky, and the couple officially filed for divorce in 1978.
