It was revealed via documents unearthed in recent years from the National Archives that the queen and Prime Minister Anthony Eden had joined forces to draw up a plan for Margaret and Townsend's proposed marriage, which would have allowed her to keep her royal title and allowance, and continue on as a face of the royal family, but give up her or any of her children's place in the line of succession. I am deeply grateful for the concern of all those who have constantly prayed for my happiness.'

I have reached this decision entirely alone, and in doing so I have been strengthened by the unfailing support and devotion of Group Captain Townsend. But mindful of the Church's teachings that Christian marriage is indissoluble, and conscious of my duty to the Commonwealth, I have resolved to put these considerations before others. 'I have been aware that, subject to renouncing my rights of succession, it might have been possible for me to contract a civil marriage. 'I would like it to be known that I have decided not to marry Group Captain Peter Townsend,' Margaret said in a statement that they drafted together and was issued by the Palace on Oct. 12, 1955-when it became apparent that their hoped-for marriage would not be happening, despite a wave of public opinion in their favor. Margaret and Townsend wouldn't see each other again until Oct. In the meantime, she first had Townsend transferred back to her staff at Buckingham Palace, and then the prime minister arranged a post for him in Belgium. Complicating the process, the Church of England ironically forbade divorce-though King Henry VIII had to leave the Catholic church and start the Church of England himself in 1532 to divorce his first wife so he could marry Anne Boleyn, lucky her. The British government was also that prudish about it. Edward VIII abdicated in 1936 rather than risk a constitutional crisis.Ībout to embark on a six-month tour of the Commonwealth, the queen asked her sister to wait a year, and then they would revisit. Per the Royal Marriages Act of 1772, the reigning sovereign's permission was required, and the queen did investigate all her options. Queen Elizabeth II was said to feel deeply for her sister's predicament, but having barely warmed the throne she wasn't yet in a position to rewrite history and all of a sudden make it perfectly acceptable for a member of the royal family to marry a divorcé. Meanwhile, those whose approval would theoretically be necessary for Margaret and Townsend to marry were opposed to the match from the start. 'I think there are hints of her in Prince Harry,' Bonham Carter observed to Town & Country, comparing the reminiscent issues the young royal has with the media to this day, decades later.

Princess margaret christopher warwick