Inside Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon’s relationship

Staff writer

18 November 2019 at 4:52 pm

Royalty - Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon - Badmington Horse Trials

Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon were one of Britain's most glamorous couples, but their relationship ultimately came to a less than satisfying end.

The two first met in 1958 at a dinner party, and Snowdon, the renowned photographer and filmmaker, was commissioned to take photographs of the princess.

Princess Margaret with her husband Tony Armstrong-Jones, Lord Snowdon, at Royal Ascot on June 15, 1970.
Lord Snowdon died peacefully at his home on January 13, 2017 aged 86.

Princess Margaret with her former husband Lord Snowdon and his mother, the Countess of Rosse (centre) in London when the Princess opened the Oliver Messel Exhibition in the Theatre Museum at the Victoria and Albert Museum.

PRINCESS MARGARET AND THE EARL OF SNOWDON WITH THEIR CHILDREN VISCOUNT LINLEY AND LADY SARAH ARMSTRONG-JONES. * 9/2/02: Princess Margaret has died Buckingham Palace have announced. The Palace said that she died peacefully in her sleep.

Lord Snowdon drives Princess Margaret away from the airport in their Volvo estate after she had arrived from Barbados. He met her with a fur coat as she stepped out into the chilly morning

Princess Margaret with her husband Tony Armstrong-Jones, Lord Snowdon attend Badminton Horse Trials on April 18, 1970 in Badminton, England.

Lord Snowdon with his children Viscount Linley and Lady Sarah Armstrong-Jones arriving at Caernarfon Castle for the investiture of the Prince of Wales.

Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon saying goodbye to the Rev. Robert E. Williams, the vicar, as they leave the 13th century Llanfaglan Parish Church, near Caernarfon, Wales.

PA NEWS PHOTO 27/5/69 PRINCESS MARGARET AND HUSBAND LORD SNOWDON AT SADLERS WELLS THEATRE FOR "LES GRANDS BALLET DES CANADIENS". * 21/09/2000 Lord Snowdon's marriage to his second wife has ended in divorce.

Princess Margaret, followed by her husband, the Earl of Snowdon (right), arriving at the White City Stadium, West London, to attend the International Horse Show.

Princess Margaret and her husband, the Earl of Snowdon, in the Royal Box at Epsom.

David Albert Charles, Viscount Linley, yawns in the arms of his mother Princess Margaret as they leave Clarence House, London, residence of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, to go home to Kensington Palace today. They are looked on by the Earl of Snowdon. The Princess was at Clarence House from 2.11.61 the eve of the childs birth.

Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones emerge from the west door of Westminster Abbey in London to drive together to Buckingham Palace after their wedding ceremony.

Antony Armstrong-Jones brushes vigorously at the confetti and rose petals which cling to him as he and his bride, Princess Margaret, are welcomed at Tower Pier by Viscount Simon, Chairman of the Port of London Authority, prior to the embarkation in the Royal Yacht Britannia and their West Indies honeymoon.

Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones at Buckingham Palace after their marriage ceremony at Westminster Abbey in London.

Princess Margaret and her fiance, photographer Antony Armstrong-Jones, play with one of her pet dogs at the Royal Lodge, Windsor. The princess and her fiance are pictured together for the first time since the announcement of their engagement. They are spending the weekend with the Queen Mother.

The newly-engaged Princess Margaret and photographer Antony Armstrong-Jones, strolling in the grounds of Royal Lodge, Windsor, where they are spending the weekend with the Queen Mother. This is one of the first pictures made of the couple after the announcement of their engagement. Princess Margaret wears a lilac dress with loose-fitting jacket, two strings of pearls and a gold watch. Her fiance's suit is a dark grey pin-stripe.

Princess Margaret and her fiance, photographer Antony Armstrong-Jones, pictured at the Royal Lodge, Windsor, where the newly-engaged couple spent the weekend.

Princess Margaret and her husband, Lord Snowdon, made at Kensington Palace in London on May 2, 1974. (AP Photo)

Britain's Princess Margaret and her husband, Lord Snowdon, smiles from inside a car after they arrived at New York's Kennedy airport on, March 14, 1968. The royal couple will attend a fund-raising party for the New York Association for Brain-Injured Children. (AP Photo)

Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon in Nassau on March 16, 1967. (AP Photo)

Great Britain’s Princess Margaret with husband Earl of Snowdon during the benefit ball for Winston Churchill Memorial Fund on Nov. 19, 1965. (AP Photo)

Great Britain’s Princess Margaret with husband Lord Snowdon on the ranch of Lewis Douglas in Tucson, Arizona on Nov. 18, 1965. (AP Photo)

Princess Margaret with husband Lord of Snowdon at George Washington's home, Mt. Vernon in Alexandria, Virginia on Nov. 16, 1965. (AP Photo)

Princess Margaret and husband Lord Snowdon visit at Smithsonian Institution in Washington in November 1965. (AP Photo/Henry Burroughs)

Princess Margaret and her husband, the Earl of Snowdon, are shown in their first formal portrait study in England on Oct. 25, 1965, since their marriage in May 1960. The princess, accompanied by her husband, will arrive in the United States on Thursday, Nov. 4. It will be the first time the princess will see the United States. (AP Photo)

Princess Margaret of Britain and her husband, Lord Snowdon, descending the steps that lead from the famed Villa d’Este into the “Garden of the Fountains” of the villa at the hill resort Tivoli, 35 kilometers (22 miles) east of Rome, Italy on August 24, 1965, as they went sightseeing there. The princess and her husband arrived in Rome on August 23, to spend a few days with American art writer Milton Gendel, Rome correspondent for Art News Magazine, and his wife, Judith. (AP Photo/Giulio Broglio)

FILE - This is a July 29, 1965 file photo of Britain's Princess Margaret with Lord Snowdon, Anthony Armstrong Jones, 2nd left, as he shakes hands with Ringo Starr when meeting the Beatles before the world charity premiere of their second film, "Help", at the London Pavilion, in London. Lord Snowdon, the former husband of Princess Margaret who was also a photographer, has died. He was 86. Antony Armstrong-Jones, or Lord Snowdon, died peacefully at his home on Friday Jan. 13 2017. (AP Photo, File)

The pair hit it off and began a secret love affair, but not everyone was pleased about their relationship.

For the inside story on their time together, and eventual parting, take a look at the video above.