I kind of wish Margaret was around to meet Meghan, can you imagine? She'd not have held her tongue lol

Andrew's behaviour is identical to Margaret's. He is the epitome of arrogance and blatant rudeness. Ask anyone in the Windsor Suite at Heathrow. Harry has inherited the same gene. Petulance, self entitlement, arrogance, rudeness is a common thread that runs through the extras in the RF.

Oh yes, Margaret was a very entitled and self indulgent character. Beautiful and elegant but she gave into her excesses. But a loyal spare to the late Queen. SHE wasn't an idiot though. She gave up Townsend rather than giving up her Royal privileges. This one should have paid more attention to family history. Hard living shortened her life. A fascinating Spare in comparison to "this one".

WOW. If she had married Townsend she would have been bored within months & pecked him to death.

it sounds to me as if Anne Glenconner’s marriage was a training course for dealing with Princess Margaret.

I absolutely agree with your feelings on Princess Margaret, a rude and entitled person, with others getting her out of potentially embarrassing situations - so like a certain Prince

I always thought Roald Dahl's observation is the best when referring to ugliness, “If a person has ugly thoughts, it begins to show on the face. And when that person has ugly thoughts every day, every week, every year, the face gets uglier and uglier until you can hardly bear to look at it.' Yes PM was beautiful to look at in youth, as many of us are at this age, but I think as she aged the ugliness within was revealed on the outside too - as it can and often does with mean people.

Selfish people are never happy. People who go about bringing help and hope to others naturally receive joy from it and are showered with love from those who benefit. Self-centered people are always grasping for what the givers enjoy.

I thought Margaret was bad until Harry came along. Wonder what the next generation will bring.

I watched a documentry about Princess Margaret,she had a high IQ and would have liked a formal education,she wanted to go to university however she was denied both sadly .

Poor Lady Glenconner, it's a blessing that she managed to get a few years of peace after her horrid husband and awful Margaret, I just hope that she didn't stumble on any other piece of work to upset rest of her earthly journey.

I'm glad to hear you say this about Margaret - I've never been a big fan of hers either. I remember all those years ago, her behaviour was really appalling, and she always came across as self-absorbed and bitter. Very typical of the alcoholic, really. The marriage thing no doubt didn't help, but her marriage to Anthony Armstrong-Jones really took her down the wrong path. I think the Queen never got enough credit for how much she loved and supported her younger sister.

Well at least with Margaret, she was loyal to the Crown. It must have been hard, seeing her sister happily married to the dashing Prince Philip, and crowned at such a young age. Then she wasn't allowed to marry her divorced lover, because it wasn't the done thing. Plus they say she was very dedicated to her charities. Maybe it's a spare thing, they have addictive tendencies, then act out. Margaret with her booze, Harry with his drugs, and Andrew with his weakness for sex, with the wrong people.

Princess Margo was bored. She wanted the power of the Queen but none of the business of royalty. She was, in my opinion, spoiled and a bully to anyone who didn't matter. But incredibly loyal to those who did. She feathered her nest to suit herself and bugger off anyone who didn't suit her. I dont think she likes herself overly much She strikes me as very sad.

Princess Margaret stayed in our house in Swaziland at the time of the country's Independence celebrations (we all moved out, of course, didn't even meet her). She was VERY difficult & hard to please.

I have consistently heard that she was rude and thoroughly unpleasant to those around her, more so to the palace employees. Apparently, not well liked, but i have no way to corroborate that. Perhaps, you would!!!

I never liked Margaret. Very entitled and whiny. She wasnt stupid enough to leave the fold though. What would she be qualified to do? Like Harry.? 😅 Cant wait to watch this one.

This is the problem with the world in general, bored, spiteful rich people behaving badly and people running around covering their tracks for them and making them look "less rude" as you put it.

Love Lady Anne Glenconnor! She lives in Norfolk on or near Holkhan Hall. She sometimes makes appearances locally to do a talk. I'd love to go! The trauma of 'Sparedom' is old history, is it not!?

When she visited bases that we were once on no one was comfortable as she could be difficult if the mood took her. Also, it was rumoured that every powder room along her route was supplied with a decanter of gin. To be fair to her, I worked in a restaurant in Wales in the seventies and she and Roddy LLewelyn turned up unannounced one night. They were given a back room where they could be in private and she was as good as gold and seemed very relaxed out of the gold fish bowl.

This is going to be a long comment (apologies in advance). Margaret reminds me of the old school royalty. Purposeless, aimless, privileged through the position of their birth, entitled and nothing to prove to anyone and not accountable to anyone but the queen if she wanted to have her pocket money and life style, the two sisters were completely different because to a large extent Margaret was protected and molly coddled and really didn't give a rats about anything much. The queen on the other hand had the responsibility of the nation. Her father broke with tradition and was less hedonistic. they had experienced two world wars, and there was a change to the social fabric after world war one (less upstairs downstairs unless you were royal). The queen would have had prince phillip a fly in her ear about 'position through the will of the people' because of his own family downfall and I believe this can be seen with the concerted effort of the Queen and her descendants to keep the public onside and to live a life of service and purpose - to live meaningfully. My comparison of Margaret is to the old school royals is because in the early 80s i was living in London as a youngun Aussie travelling with an aussie friend. Six degrees of seperation.. three in this instance. My travel mate worked in a shop and met another aussie who was acting as a residential carer to one of the old school royals on the peripherals (geriatric and probably demented by that stage). Anyway we were told by the carer her job was very easy but emotionally exhausting because basically she got one day off a fortnight and the old dear was an absolute lush who could not do a thing for herself from filling her own glass (which was topped up endlessly daily until she passed out), couldn't even get her cigarettes out the dispenser let alone light it, was unable to fill her bath and staff would put the toothpaste on the toothbrush for her. the old school royals were completely dependent on the hired help, and we can see how this changes with Charles and Ann, and later William and Harry who apparently invested in a George Foreman and learned how to at least feed themselves. Anyway point being - Margaret really didn't give a rats because she was royal , knew it, didn't have to prove anything and the ONLY thing she needed to do to retain her lifestyle was to be loyal to the purse holder. Harry aint worked that out yet (nor has MM). Loyalty to the monarch was the ONLY thing they ever really needed to do.

I always buy my books that you speak on. You're better than Oprah! I think Princess Margaret drank to escape from the sadness she felt. She was an unhappy person.

Her mother treated her horribly but she didn't have to be so nasty to people. I like her children, David and Sarah, despite not knowing anything about their personalities.

I think her looks reflected who she was. I agree beautiful when young, but even at a very young age she used that beauty to attract a man she knew was married. She could have married her “true love” Peter Townsend but was not willing to give up her Royal priviledges, which I think says a lot. She treated people that she considered beneath her badly and often kept people waiting for hours during her Royal duties. I agree loyalty is a great thing. If Princess Margaret was a working class woman she would have been called a different name from party Princess . I love your gossips and reviews. Thank you

I know that Margret was never an intentional 'spare' and that history simply played out that way for her, but the traits here are seen in all of those born to the bench....... Margaret I can forgive a little, she had her sister stolen from her to a role she was not born to, stripping them I'm sure of their closeness on some level, so their will be complexities that arose; others who have followed have known their position from birth, but are equally as petulant, spiteful and misguided....

Princess Margaret and Peter Townsend drank at a pub in the Eastend of London that my mum and dad went to, my dad was fascinated with her long cigarette holder 😊 He did say that Margaret would come across as very chatty and friendly but then suddenly go all haughty and ‘how dare you speak to me’, as you can imagine, that didn’t go down very well with the local people who would take the mickey out of her x

Princess Margaret has a similar effect on me. I find her hard to admire.

I've seen a few interviews that I felt had the very distinct peal of truth to them, and among other things stated was that Princess Anne was always "very well lubricated" whenever the time of day, and wherever she was. And that she was nothing if not incredibly, and unreasonably demanding, but most people humored her in this regard. I too think she did start out as movie star gorgeous, although QEII was very beautiful too, Princess Margaret had the more classical and expected beauty of the two sisters IMO. I believe as we age our personalities are more and more visible on our faces, and Queen Elizabeth's beauty had the ultimate staying power that comes from deep within.

I always think of her wearing her tiara in the bathtub and partying with Mick Jagger. I bet he could tell you a few stories about her.

Margaret valued her Royal connections.She would never give them up.She behaved more Royaly than the Queen but was totally loyal to her.

Hello Shauna, like you I thought Princess Margaret was so beautiful. I didn't ever dislike her, I did however feel sorry for. You (or at lest Anne Glenconner) have shown me she had a dark side, but I value loyalty very highly and will always respect her that. Oddly enough the one person I never took to was Diana Princess of Wales. I say oddly because so many people adored her.

The drinking was just a symptom of her unhappiness. She was given an extremely difficult choice as far as marrying Peter Townsend meant giving up her place in the line of inheritance. Her whole identification

Almost nobody tells a royal off. It's what attracted Harry to Meghan initially, that she didn't take his BS. I guess princess Margaret would have been better behaved if she had been used to hear the word 'no'.

It was lovely just hearing about someone other than ‘those two’. Margaret probably was snobbish or haughty but she’s got one up on Harry. She was a ‘spare’ too but never said a word against The Crown. 🇦🇺🦘🐨❤️

There was a documentary about Princess Margret that recalled she didn't know what she should be, she knew her sister would be Queen one day, but she didn't have a role, yet she had all the rules to follow, she couldn't marry the person she wanted to, she settled for a man who was uncaring / bisexual and violent, so she turned to alcohol / cigarettes and some even say drugs. Yes she was rebel but a woman found it hard in the monarchy because you loose your place in the line of succession to men which made her feel less and less worthy, her only happiness was her island, she had children but they were pushed out also which is a shame

Lady Anne Glenconner seems lovely and has a great insight. Princess Margaret was lucky to have her. I'm a bit amazed at the trust the rest of the RF seems to have with Lady Anne Glenconner. She seems respected and loved by them. Are they not afraid that someday she'll write about them in a book?

The only thing Princess Margaret was loyal to was money. She could have married Peter Townsend moved to France with him and lived the high life there but that meant giving up her royal status and the allowance that went with it. She married Tony Armstrong-Jones to get away from her controlling mother, and divorced him when it suited her, she never knew what the words loyalty and faithful ment and the continental press loved reporting on her escorts and flings in the sun on the Island that someone brought her in the hope it would get him nearer the late Queen. The only people I have sympathy with are her two children who lived with her rages, and drunken attitudes

Sometimes you can overlook a lot of bad behavior if it’s a person you truly trust. Trust means that much and loyalty is very rare today. So sad 😢

Princess Margaret reminds me very much of Elizabeth Taylor in beauty, spirit and demons.

I agree with your feelings on Princess Margaret. No ill feelings, but I can take her or leave her.

Anne Glenconner is quite a good writer. Her novel set in Mustique is excellent and her first memoir was superb. Looking forward to this new book, especially after your review. Princess Margaret was a beautiful, storybook bride...one of the most beautiful Royal brides in Europe. Thank you for the review. I agree that Lady Conner is non judgemental.

I agree with you. I always thought Margaret was incredibly rude.

Just for your information…..Tig Productions is owned by Kevin Costner….”Tig” was his grandmothers nickname…..

Thank Goodness HRH Prince William is the first born and Thank Goodness Queen Elizabeth II was the first born !!!

Oh, Baby-Girl, You are a gift that's just keep giving. Love from Gothenburg, Sweden Lisa ❤

Love Princess Margaret stories! Thanks. I think Harry's ghostwriter must have made the connection between the two being both 'spares' and asked him for any stories about her and all he could think about was being gifted a fish pen. That's the only reason I can think they would include such a trivial story in his book.

Maybe if she had been able to marry Peter Townsend, things would have been different. She was quite a character. She's definitely the kind of person who should never touch alcohol. I first heard about her cruelty in Edward St Aubyn's "Some Hope". It's described as fiction, but as fans know, most of the stories he tells are autobiographical. He describes a party in her honor, and she was incredibly callous and rude. She might have also been intoxicated. She was bitter, it seems.

How devastating for that couple thinking they were invited when they weren’t! That’s awful. They probably told some friends and were very embarrassed when they got home.

Like you, others, too, get riled when reading about Princess Margaret, yet learning of her life seems to elicit more pathos than envy--and perhaps the princess, like most royals, has the good judgment and wisdom to never turn on the monarchy because it is in her self interest to preserve it.

Whilst I realise that Margaret could be like a shrew ,I do however feel for her Snowden was by all accounts very mean to her ,leaving terribly hurtful notes around the house for her to find It could not have been easy to know both her mother and sister both continued to entertain him Many times she came home to see them all having dinners to which she was not invited 😢

How did Margaret and Snowden's children turn out so well (by outward appearances) with such toxic parents?

All the opportunities the spares have there is no excuse to claim misery. Look at Ann i love that she doesnt give a doodoo what people says and just does the job. Just adore her

Her children seem to be stabile. I am American but lived around horse people who had interaction with the royals. Never was impressed by people who feel entitled. They are takers usually, not givers. Margaret was a taker and seemed pretty dismal as a person.

Thank you Shauna another excellent review. I will definitely be buying the book as I have read Anne Glenconner’s first book and it was fascinating.I am sure that I won’t be disappointed with this one.

I find Margaret quite unlikeable…She was absolutely desperate to marry Peter Townsend, the Queen said she may marry him however she was to give up all her Royal trappings, she said no, she will not give up her Royal status…So much for being in love…Shallow and fake….Rude is an understatement when you research her life…..Lady Glenconner sounds quite genuine…

I love your deep dives when you compare biographies to get to the likely truth. I've seen some books about the Mountbattens on the shelf behind you in some of your videos (like this one) and wondered if you'd ever considered doing videos on them? (The Duke and Duchess of Windsor would be interesting as well).

Thank you for your channel. Between reading the titles on the shelves behind you and what you review, I've found some great reads.

You have me intrigued, now I'll have to read both her books. I was a girl guide and remember meeting her when she was here in Australia. All I really remember was that she was very glamorous. I love your reviews . Thank you for your time and efforts ❤

Shauna,great story retelling and interesting details. You also give Princess Margaret credit,where credit is due. Thank you 😊

Nice review. 😊Anne was an aristocrat herself, why did she stay with him especially as he was cruel to the children as well?

I don't particularly like PM. She was her father's darling and missed him terribly. I think that's one reason the QM was mean to her. Perhaps if she had been allowed to marry Townsend with out having up give her royal position, she might have become a different person. It seems to me that she was deeply unhappy and took it out on people. See you Wednesday.

What a perfect example of drinking poison yourself and waiting to see your “enemy” die. People who don’t get what they want and then lash out at others are often sad to find the only person they hurt is themselves. Who does that remind me of?? 🤔🤔 Better to accept your “lot” (cry me a river PRINCESS) and make the best of it.

From what I hear, and your own accounts, it seems that Margaret was her father’s daughter. He too, had a contempt for the commoner. If Hollywood is the standard for “ creative people “ then I prefer the cultured and mundane. Her father was rude so the example was set, yet I sense a reluctance of every Brit to “ go there”. Maybe you will be the brave one to give us the hidden truths of his behaviour. ? And , was she pretty? Yes, very. Stunning? No. Her meanness detracted from her attractiveness; and maybe this is what the men in her life saw. But that is just speculation from me.

Nice to hear from you ! How rude PM ! Boo hoo !

Interesting to note that Senior royals would often request women to be their 'Ladies in Waiting' to remove them from DV as we would call it now. It was all done with the utmost subtlety but the abuser was kept at arm's length & the victim protected. Who could refuse HMTQM or in this case, Princess Margaret? Under the radar elegant GF network at it's finest 🌹

I love stories about princess Margaret , she is so interesting and mysterious. The stories are so good. I have never heard about these stories thank you ❤👍🏼 a real treat.

Loved this.

No excuses. Margaret was an amoral witch. Yes I am being judgmental. The entitlement the royals own is a result of making one person higher in value to another. Of course being bowed to and waited on all your life is going to have a negative impact on the development of one’s character.

You look lovely Shauna. Loved this clip.

This sounds like a very interesting book! Thanks for the coverage!

She thought that she was above all…intitled

The curse of the second born royal. Margaret's marriage was dismal. I doubt that she ever found any real happiness. Sad. 😢

I love that Lady Glenconnor narrates her own books on audible. She’s fabulous. Of course, I really like Princess Margaret. I think she’s the only character in The Crown, that they got correct. And she did not buy into the Diana narratives. Margaret knew where to find the booze and the boys. I love the stories about Margaret in Hollywood, and meeting the President. And Elizabeth Taylor left the Hollywood dinner for Marge, because they put her at a table near the kitchen. Ladies will be ladies. Heehee

G’day to you 🤗

If only Princess Margaret still alive today I believe meghan cannot get through Buckingham Palace gate.

I always thought Princess Margaret was absolutely vile.

👏👏👏❤️❤️❤️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

I wounder if "all" royal families forgot the spare, they just leave them to themself without a purpos, just be there IF. No one want to be left to they own, royal or not. If I describe it just on the surface.

I always thought that Margaret's worst two traits were petulance and jealousy of her sister. It made her bitter and brittle. She sure would have landed on Meghan with both feet though at the first hint of her hurting her dear sister. Margaret would have put the fear of God into her.

One wonders what would have been a conversation with the californian actress (forgot her name)...

I love your content, what an oasis, thank you❤

Anne Glenconner is a saint. I personally can't understand how someone can derive such pleasure by being so cruel and causing so much unhappiness. Princess Margaret never seemed like a very happy woman and this is just more evidence of it. I don't think she was capable of it.

Princess Anne was very dismissive of Diana and when Diana's cortege passed the Royal Family I believe unlike the rest of the family she didn't try to bow her head. I am glad Lady Anne Glenconner is now living her best life now, her life appeared to be hellish at times.

Thanks!

You've got to be a certain kind of horrible person to do that to somebody that's gave you a gift I don't care who you are ! I find that little story really awful

Not such a Sterling example of royalty and, IMO a deeply unhappy woman. Another great review, Shauna, thanks, from Canada 🇨🇦

"Those most desperate to ingratiate themselves" sounds like M and H (mostly M.) Wouldn't that be a site to see!

I’ve also heard that the Queen Mother was a ‘functioning alcoholic’. I guess when you’re the Queen and you want a G&T at breakfast, they bloody well better get you a gin and tonic. 🍸

Margo was a real B word . They say you reap what you sow . Maybe thats why she died a horrible slow way . Karma has way of taking care of people who are mean to others 🥺

The chain smoking affected her beauty and health as well. The queen did not smoke.

I feel sorry for Margaret. She had a limited education & no real purpose in life which plagued her. Her controlling mother & the endless rules of the monarchy denied her love & happiness. She was betrayed by Lord Snowdon in her marriage in the most horrible way. No wonder she went off the rails. No excuse for bad behaviour but many in the monarchy are still arrogant & entitled.

I think Princess Margaret got a bad deal in life. She wasn’t brought up with the expectation that she’d have something to do except get married so wasn’t educated. If she had been able to marry Townsend I.e. if that nasty courtier Lascelles hadn’t kept secret the fact that she could I think she would have been so much happier and perhaps never become so addicted to alcohol. Lady Glenconnor got a bad deal as well. I wonder how many other women had to suffer through these horrid marriages? Probably plenty.

I wonder if Margaret had been allowed to marry her 1st love, if she would have been different.

Her husband completed disinherited her and their children, and gave everything to his VALET.

She was very loyal to her sister.

I don't know if it's true, i've heard Margaret used to attend places and rake up the bills and made other people pay. She's an excessive spender to put it lightly. When i listen to stories about these upper class people i don't expect them to be intelligent, innocent free of any flaws, just at least try not to be a pain in the ass especially towards their staffs.

I maybe understand why, princess Margaret is a little snobbish.. i think it was because her sister was in charge of her life..( or maybe they mother, the queen mother, was the one really calling the shots) Never been able to decide for herself,...

Isn't it interesting that two sisters can be such completely different people?

❤

🌈🌲Thanks, Shauna ~ very interesting 😊I missed your podcasts because I went to visit family and friends out in the country on a farm🦋🦋Shalom ~ violet🌷🌷PS I thought of you when I read this ~ “Neuroplasticity, Yom Kippur and Real Change..” by the BRILLIANT PSYCHIATRIST ~ Dr. Norman Doidge * * *