Margaret was devastated by the death of her father and turned to her father’s equerry, Group Captain Peter Townsend, for comfort. Margaret and her mother, now Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, moved out of Buckingham Palace to Clarence House in London. On 6 February 1952, King George VI died in his sleep and Margaret’s elder sister succeeded to the throne as Queen Elizabeth II. Margaret accompanied her parents and sister on an official Elizabeth and Margaret spent the Second World War at Windsor Castle, where they delivered a radio broadcast to the children of the British Empire and Commonwealth in 1940. She was known for her sense of humour and vivacious personality. Margaret received piano lessons and becameĪn enthusiastic piano player, singer, and actress in amateur theatricals. Margaret and her elder sister, the future Queen Elizabeth II, were educated at home by a Scottish governess, Marion Crawford.

In 1936, Margaret’s father became king following the death of hisįather and the abdication of his elder brother, King Edward VIII, and the family moved into Buckingham Palace.

Scotland since Queen Victoria’s granddaughter Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg, the future Queen of Spain, in 1887. Her mother was a member of the Scottish aristocracy and Margaret was the first princess to be born in Margaret was born at Glamis Castle during the reign of her grandfather King George V, the younger of the two daughters of the future King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (née Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon).

Princess margaret a life of contrasts