Princess Margaret (1930-2002), younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth of the United Kingdom and sister of Queen Elizabeth II. First came to the attention of the press thanks to her glamourous lifestyle, fashion choices and failed years-long romance with Peter Townsend, a divorced man. Married Antony Armstrong-Jones, a photographer, in 1960, becoming Countess of Snowdon upon her husband’s elevation to the peerage in 1961. Received much negative publicity for her partying, use of alcohol and drugs and infidelity during her marriage, which ended in 1978. Suffered from poor health in her later years, becoming disabled as the result of a number of strokes before dying at the age of 71.
Figure 8.1. Thomas Cantrell Dugdale, Princess Margaret (1947-2002), Colonel-in-Chief, n.d., oil on canvas, 90 x 70 cm, Royal Highland Fusiliers Museum, Glasgow, source: Art UK.
1940s
Evening-wear
Figure 8.2. Norman Hartnell (British), Fashion Design, c. 1949, pencil, pen and ink and watercolour, 257 x 225 mm, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, E.624-1972, source: V&A.
Figure 8.9. Norman Hartnell (British), Dress worn by Princess Margaret, c. 1953, Fashion Museum, Bath, source: Facebook.
Dress worn to the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, 1953
Figure 8.10. Photographer unknown, Princess Margaret at the coronation of her sister, Queen Elizabeth II, 1953, Getty Images, source: Pinterest.
Figure 8.11. Norman Hartnell (British), Dress worn by Princess Margaret to the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, 1953, Royal Collection Trust, source: Pinterest.
1960s
Daywear
Figure 8.12. Maker unknown, Short day dress, c. 1960s, 2nd Earl of Snowdon and Lady Sarah Chatto, source: Semple.
Fancy dress
On July 1, 1964, Princess Margaret attended a Georgian-themed charity ball in support of Friends of St. John’s. She wore a turquoise silk ball gown in the eighteenth-century style designed by Oliver Messel, a famous and much sought-after designer of stage sets and costumes. Incidentally, Messel was also related to Princess Margaret through his nephew, Antony-Armstrong Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon, whom she married in 1960.
Figure 8.13. Photographer unknown, Princess Margaret wearing a ball gown in the eighteenth-century style at a Georgian-themed ball, 1964, Getty Images, source: Vanity Fair and People.
The dress now resides in the collection of the Princess’s children, the 2nd Earl of Snowdon and Lady Sarah Chatto.
Figure 8.14. Oliver Messel (British), Eighteenth-century style ball gown worn by Princess Margaret, 1964, 2nd Earl of Snowdon and Lady Sarah Chatto, source: Tatler and Town & Country.
1970s
Daywear
Figure 8.15. Marc Bohan for Christian Dior, Short day dress, c. 1979, 2nd Earl of Snowdon and Lady Sarah Chatto, source: Daily Mail.
Evening-wear
Figure 8.16. Norman Hartnell (British), Evening dress, 1977, 2nd Earl of Snowdon and Lady Sarah Chatto, source: Daily Mail.
Figure 8.17. Photographer unknown, Princess Margaret meeting Rudolf Nureyev at the London premiere of Valentino, October 1977, source: WordPress.
Figure 8.18. Marc Bohan for Christian Dior, Evening dress, 1977, 2nd Earl of Snowdon and Lady Sarah Chatto, source: Elle and Pinterest.
Fancy dress
Figure 8.19. Carl Toms (British), Turban, 1976, 2nd Earl of Snowdon and Lady Sarah Chatto, source: Pinterest.
Figure 8.20. Carl Toms (British), Caftan, 1976, 2nd Earl of Snowdon and Lady Sarah Chatto, source: Daily Mail.
Figure 8.21. Patrick Lichfield (British), Princess Margaret wearing a Carl Toms ensemble at a fancy-dress party in Mustique, 1976, Getty Images, source: Daily Mail.
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Her-storic Royal Dress 