Princess Margaret

Look into it OP and get back to us.

Because she looked like a Jewish manicurist

She was lazy and not well educated, and once the Queen’s children grew up she wasn’t relevant.

Her father spoilt her outrageously. She had all the perks of royalty but far less of the pressure than her sister had.

She made a huge mistake not marrying Johnny Dalkeith. Tony A-S was the worst possible choice she could have made.

Wrong turnings at every crossroad.

To be well-adjusted when born into the role of royal "spare", a person has to have some interest in their life other than partying and royal duties. Of the current spares Anne and Edward seem to be the sanest, because they were interested in horses and film production, respectively, so they managed to have a little bit of life outside of being a "spare".

Harry has tried, but face it, he's chosen a life where there's nothing to be interested in but having a good time and famewhoring. If he'd gone off to run a farm or wildlife preserve in Africa as he'd originally planned there might have been some hope for him, but there isn't now.

She was a bitter alcoholic.

This has NEVER been discussed before!

Lady Anne Belconnen and co are eyeing their best to rehabilitate her image, but she was at heart a stupid, lazy, mean-spirited bigot.

I heard that she was very smart, but cunty, lazy and very very royal

Try reading this, OP. It captures the awfulness of PM in a well-written, funny way.

Because she’s frequently have SUCH a hard time choosing between the Bentley and the Jag.

In the days before good medical healthcare the second and even the third child was highly prized. You could never guarantee that the first born would actually live long enough to succeed to the throne. Since Victorian times they have never learned what to do with the second son.

Victoria‘s second son Alford became a wicked alcoholic. Edward VII’ssecond son succeeded to the throne when his older brother died and he was woefully unprepared to become prince of Wales. He eventually became George V, but he was always deeply conservative, suspicious of anything new, and under-educated.

George VI was unprepared as well and hampered by a stutter that he was extremely self-conscious about. There was so much stock put in his older brother Edward VIII that when Edward abdicated George was unprepared. He was so self-effacing that he even took his father‘s name rather than using his own when he became king.

Margaret was the same — there is just not much use for the spare these days. In the next generation it was Andrew (Anne and Edward have become the stable [ha!] members of the family). Now it’s Harry. I hope they have solid plans for Charlotte and Louis.

Because Bette Midler made a very funny joke about her hiding a Rolls Royce in her twat

R12

The Princess Margaret was a handful from almost time she left the nursery. Her behaviour grew steadily worse as time went on because there wasn't anyone who could tell "Ma'am" knock it off. It was a bit of Queen Victoria and Edward VIII mixed into the spirit of a rebellious (then) young princess.

She was a royal cunt.

R8 Glenconner

The Princess Margaret needed to be married to a bloke what would give her a serious rogering several times a night, and not put up with her hoity-toity ways.

When one is raised to get everything one wants, but then is told that one can't have what one wants, one goes off the rails.

It was Margot with a 't', R18, spelt à la française. That spelling was the subject of a funny exchange between Margot Asquith and Jean Harlow:

R12 - "Since Victorian times"?!

Across European history of the last 1,000 years, the heirs and spares have been fighting for power".

"The Lion in Winter" about the bitter rivalries amongst Henry II's 5 sons is a good place to start.

Never mind the Wars of the Roses, as Edward's younger brother. George, Duke of Clarence, changed sides when he thought it might benefit him.

Two spares of recent memory who came out well were Georges V and VI. Both came to the throne unexpectedly when the heir died and abdicated. Both happened to be in happy marriages with gently domineering supportive wives, both supported Edwardian views of marriage, monarchy, and Imperial Britain, both with uninspiring but "sound" characters, and both made better kings than their older siblings would have. Both died loved and respected by the populace, especially George VI.

Both had been quite happy with their second tank status until events forced them up the ladder.

So, it doesn't always follow.

^*second rank (not tank)

R1 Stop being a bitch and either play along or STFU

You are right R20. I meant the healthcare sine Victorian time has improved exponentially, thus sometimes making the spare without a clearly defined role. Sorry for the confusing way that was written.

[quote]I heard that she was very smart

Oh honey, no. She’s not actually Helena Bonham Carter.

The five royal generations surrounding the Queen’s and the one including her are below average IQ. Their general stupidity is why they are generally popular with their subjects - it makes them parochial and “normal”.

Kate Middleton is an intellectual giant towering above every senior royal born after 1899.

What do you expect when you have no purpose in life? These royals-in-waiting are poorly educated, they can't work, they have no function except to breathe, and reproduce. Princess Margaret, Prince Andrew and Prince Harry all suffer from the same condition because they are siblings of a future king. They marry poorly, drink too much and have way too much time on their hands to focus on themselves. It seems the farther away you are in the line of succession, the better chance you have at escaping the royal dole and the "palace system" and living a more normal life. Princess Anne, Prince Edward - both farther down the line - they have the sense to make sure their children aren't given titles and can go out in the world.

R24 For what it's worth, Gore Vidal had a high opinion of Margaret's intellect.

[quote]Princess Margaret - Why was her life so pathetic and sad?

She didn't have the strength.

She couldn't decide whether to be royal or common, so she was the worst of both---haughty and crass.

R15: Thank you … that was hilarious. Tracy Ullman is a national treasure - yes, right up there with Dame Judy Dench! – and one forgets how handsome Hugh Laurie could be in his pre-House days, when he wasn’t mugging wildly.

As for the other issue, the modern world, even the royal world, has no place for men or women of leisure. Everyone is expected to have some sort of occupation or absorbing avocation that serves as a profession-substitute. Children of the aristocracy, children of superrich Americans, all of them DO something, even if it's just a dilettante job. The same ought to be applied to royals, for their own mental health.

Running a farm sounds about right for Harry since apparently the military career didn't work out (although the military is the ideal choice for a younger royal son).

Margaret chose to be bitter because she wasn't Elizabeth.

She was ugly and British what else do you need to know?

"These royals-in-waiting are poorly educated, they can't work, they have no function except to breathe, and reproduce. "

R29 is correct, I've already pointed out that having an interest outside the royal family has been the saving of Anne and Edward, these people need to have some sort of occupation for their own mental health. Not a job necessarily, just some field where they are able to fill their days with something other than royal appearances, and where they can make a bit of a contribution as a person, not a necessarily as a royal.

Although I have to point out that the modern world DOES have a place for men and women of lesiure... Instagram. That's where you find today's lazy fuckers who want to live glam lives and do nothing useful - being "influencers"! But sadly, that's a profession forbidden to young royals, so they'll have to find something more useful for their occupation than posting selfies of their latest outfit.

What will Margaret’s storylines be in Season 5 and 6 of the Crown besides dying?

Scalding her feet seemed to be her last big hurrah. I'm surprised there wasn't a maid drawing her bath to make sure it wouldn't boil her.

She had that Prince Andrew level of arrogance, entitlement and the same lack of intelligence. She probably hated the fact that she was down in the pecking order. Epic cunt.

I've also read that she was very smart and very poorly educated. Once Elizabeth became heir, she received specialized tutoring in constitutional matters and governance, history, literature. Some of her tutors were Oxford dons. Margaret was left out and very resentful and bore a grudge about this against the Queen Mother. I don't know if she specifically put an end to her education or maybe Margaret couldn't bring herself to blame her beloved father. A sharp, idle mind can't be a good thing.

She was bitter that she could not marry Group Captain Townsend, the love of her life.

Rather than sit around all day, why don't the lesser royals get advanced degrees? Even if they have no intention of working or contributing generally to society, they can fill some time, learn stuff, and be more interesting party guests.

[quote] Tracy Ullman

Tracey

[quote] Dame Judy Dench

Judi

[quote] Hugh Laurie

Oh, splendid. She got ONE right.

She was below the Queen when she was with Elizabeth, and insisted on being above everyone else when she was with other people. That's how she spent her life, with a huge chip on her shoulder.

R37 The only thing that prevented that marriage was her reluctance to suffer a fall in status. There was no legal obstacle, and the marriage would have taken place if it was true love. Admittedly she would have fallen out of the line of succession, etc., but most of us do pretty okay without that.

No one likes to be second best.

Taking a shit and dying were the only things she ever had to do on her own in life.

That was a great read r10, thank you. I'm about ready to buy the book myself, despite having about 35 other books in my to-read pile already.

It's weird how much shade is being thrown at Harry. At least he got off his ass and left his royal position, something Margaret would never do. The Royal Family should follow the Japanese model. If the spare doesn't marry another royal then they are pushed out of the royal fold at the time of their wedding. Makes the monarchy simply and cuts out the dead weight.

[quote]She was lazy and not well educated, and once the Queen’s children grew up she wasn’t relevant.

This is Harry's future.

She was highly intelligent, but given her "position" and the era, she wasn't expected or allowed to pursue anything intellectual. Being too smart and unable to utilize it brought about being easily bored and the boredom brought out a lot of bitchiness in her.

Hopefully William's younger two children will be well-educated and encouraged to pursue careers outside of the Royal Family so this kind of thing won't happen anymore.

Bump

Intelligent in what way? You're buying Gore Vidal's nonsense. If she was really intelligent she would have developed some interest or skill besides annoying people.

Just reading “Elizabeth & Margaret: The Intimate World of the Windsor Sisters” and found this quote amusing: Margaret struggled to work the on-off switch of an electric kettle. Her sister was little better—she was unable to run her morning bath without assistance.” It’s hard to know how intelligent anyone is when they’ve never been tested. They’ve never known those moments of sheer terror before university finals, when fear of flunking out and being unable to find future employment, propels you to put in long hours studying. Or the misery of an awful job that you have to keep on going too until you find something better. For most of us growing up, these experiences are painful but also help us grow into more confident, successful adults. Most of the royals, especially those in previous generations never had those experiences. Margaret should have married Townsend. He was essentially kinder than Snowdon and would have supported and encouraged her.

Having armies of servants attend to your every need since the day you were born must result in arrested development and weird helplessness in an adult. I read an interview with one of Princess Diana’s friends and she described how people were amazed that Diana could do normal things for herself like iron a shirt or put a kettle on.

Apparently the servants reported that even as a child, if Margaret didn’t see a bended knee by 7am, there was no living with her. She could have married Townsend but wouldn’t give up the pampered royal life.

R53-like Margaret was ever awake at 7 am a single day in her life

Great bit about the Queen's and Margaret is uncle, Prince Glossy Pops, aka Prince Henry Gloucester: While sipping a glass of brandy and smoking a cigar in front of the fireplace, Prince Henry was suddenly alarmed by a rather larger than normal burning ember popping out from the fireplace and onto the Persian carpet laid before him. Immediately, he springs into action to save the carpet and the manor....by ringing for his butler! Again and again, he rings for the butler before he takes drastic measures into his own hands....he remains seated and sipping/smoking, but he begins SCREAMING for his butler as the expensive rug is moments from being engulfed in flames. FINALLY! The butler appears and receives a right royal tongue lashing from HRH: "Good God, man! Where the devil have you been? I've been calling you for five minutes! You nearly caused the house to burn down!!

She was probably only awake at 7:00 a.m. if she hadn’t yet gone to bed. Even childcare was outsourced. She had way too much time on her hands to feel sorry for herself and drink and smoke into oblivion. A sad life in spite of all the privilege.

It's funny how the three most useless and disliked of the royal family in the late 35 years have been the ones who were born into the potential #2 spot: Margaret, Andrew, and Harry. They've all not known what to do with their lives and they've all been very unhappy about it, and in the process they've pulled down the monarchy.

I really hope William and Kate are raising Charlotte to have a purpose in life apart from being next in line after George (until and if he has children of his own).

R57 Somehow I bet William and Kate are doing everything they can to position Charlotte and Louis for a fulfilling life outside the royal world.