Princess Margaret

Princess Margaret met Peter Townsend when she was just a teenager. The two never wed and parted ways in October 1955. Here is a complete timeline of their ...

During the festivities, a [reporter](https://people.com/royals/on-this-day-in-royal-history-princess-margaret-cancelled-her-wedding-to-peter-townsend/) saw Princess Margaret flick something off of Townsend's jacket, prompting speculation about their relationship. Townsend had been ill for quite some time when he died in Paris at the age of 80. But in August 1955, Margaret penned a letter to Eden and said that she would finally see Townsend in October after two years apart. Although Princess Margaret and Armstrong-Jones had separated two years prior, they divorced in 1978. However, the British government prepared plans in the event that Margaret would decide to marry Townsend after turning 25. Princess Margaret married Armstrong-Jones at Westminster Abbey on May 6, 1960. And since Townsend was a divorced man (and the Church of England had strict rules about remarriage after divorce at the time), the Queen did not grant Margaret's request. Prime Minister Anthony Eden wrote, "Exclusion from the Succession would not entail any other change in Princess Margaret's position as a member of the Royal Family." Townsend and Margaret spent plenty of time together during the trip as his official job was to look after the princess. Paperwork relating to the visit revealed that Townsend had asked for his room at Hillsborough Castle to be moved next to Margaret's room. Although Townsend ended up divorcing his first wife and proposing to Margaret in 1953, their relationship ultimately didn't work out. At the time, Townsend was married with two sons.