Princess Margaret Dies

BBC.com ^ | Saturday, 9 February, 2002, 08:56 GMT | staff

[badfreeper]

Princess Margaret, the younger sister of Queen Elizabeth II, has died "peacefully in her sleep" at the age of 71. In a statement Buckingham Palace said: "The Queen, with great sadness, has asked for the following announcement to be made immediately.

"Her beloved sister, Princess Margaret, died peacefully in her sleep this morning at 6.30am in the King Edward VII Hospital."

Her children Lord Linley and Lady Sarah Chatto were at her side at the London hospital.

Princess Margaret, who has suffered several strokes in recent years, suffered a further stroke on Friday afternoon.

She developed cardiac problems during the night and was taken from Kensington Palace to the hospital at 0230GMT.

She was born Margaret Rose on 21 August, 1930, at Glamis Castle in Scotland, the ancestral home of her mother's family.

Margaret was last seen in public before Christmas at Princess Alice, the Dowager Duchess of Gloucester's 100th birthday party.

She was confined to a wheelchair and wore heavy dark glasses, her sight having been affected by a stroke. Margaret's face also appeared puffy, understood to be the effects of medication.

© MMII

[Huck]

I don't mean to judge her, and I realize that it's something she was born into, and I don't know what I would do in a similar situation, but I'd like to think I'd realize that hereditary royalty is nonsense and wash my hands of it. I realize that isn't an easy thing. I just can't take royalty seriously.

[OldFriend]

I have to agree with you. Some Americans seem to think it's our way or no way.

Each country has traditions that bring a sense of identity and joy to it's citizens and this is one tradition that has endured through wars and scandals. Many Brits revere their monarchs and it is to their credit IMHO.

When Margaret wanted to marry Townsend her sister the Queen forbade the marriage. I remember well the international brouhaha surrounding that story. Both married others and I can only hope that they are together again at last.

[mewzilla]

That's a lovely thought.

[IVote2]

My condolences to the Royal family.

[JennysCool]

There should be no politics involved at all at a time like this. God bless her and those who loved her.

[4CJ]

My sympathies to the families. May God bless.

[Dustbunny]

Condolences to her family.

[LBGA]

That was a sad story... maybe they are.

Margaret's heartbreaker

October 31. Divorce, having caused the Abdication Crisis 20 years previously, created yet another heartbreaking wrench between love and duty. Princess Margaret, the younger sister of the Queen, formally announced that she would not marry her constant companion, the dashing - but divorced - Peter Townsend.

In an official statement, the princess told the nation: "I would like it to be known that I have decided not to marry Group Captain Peter Townsend . . .Mindful of the Church's teaching that marriage is indissoluble and conscious of my duty to the Commonwealth, I have resolved to put these considerations above all others."

As the princess was 25, she could have married without the consent of her sister, the Queen. But such a marriage would have caused divisions within the country and she might have been excluded from the Civil List.

She and Townsend were clearly in love. When the dramatic announcement was made, his butler told reporters: "He is not in a position to make a statement. He is very distressed." When Townsend was posted to Brussels as air attache - widely seen as a ploy to keep the pair apart - Princess Margaret was ill for three days.

[FrogMom]

Prayers for the royal family, if they grieve.

Thanks for the pics. That dress in the middle pic is one of the ugliest things I've ever seen.

[IVote2]

My thoughts too.

"No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the Continent, a part of the main....
Any man’s death diminishes me because I am involved in Mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee." John Donne

Regards, Jen
(I like your name.) :o)

[wita]

You might just want to put on your thinking cap and consider the King of Kings, who was born to his lot in life and did all that the Father asked of him without demanding his due, but he was royalty, and the finest example there ever will be.

[IronJack]

Odd to think that her mother outlived her.

[Artist]

Related article with many photos: Princess Margaret Has Died

[Cacique]

While one may mourn the death of another human being. I find the whole concept of a parasitic class of people called the nobility to be an anachronism whose time passed a long time ago.

That staunch republicans as many Americans should be, I find it incredible that there is any admiration for a parasitic family whose relationship to the populace is to sponge off the people. Royal and noble classes of Europe are the best example of how wasteful welfare is since they invented it and the royal family of England are the biggest welfare recipients on the planet living off the labor of the productive classes. They produce absolutely nothing nor contribute anything to civilization. Further proof that Europeans still have a long way to go before they join the modern world.

They stand as an extreme example of why the welfare state is a total insult to intelligent and productive people.

[FrdmLvr]

I was actually going to say after WWII, for the same reason you've mentioned, but I thought it wouldn't be well received. But you are right. It just became more widespread in the 60's, but it's roots go back to the 40's. There have been Communists and commie sympathisers in this country from the start of the Bolshevik Revolution.

[angcat]

exactly...............................:}

[sushiman]

mega dittos !

[MarkWar]

>Princess Margaret Dies

These family things confuse me.

Now that Margaret is dead, does that mean that Michael can finally kill Fredo?

Mark W.

[Illbay]

...at Glamis Castle in Scotland, the ancestral home of her mother's family.

Hm. Didn't they once own Cawdor, too?

[muir_redwoods]

I don't care much for monarchies and my Irish and Scottish ancestry keeps my affection for the British at a manageable level but, if nothing else, her mother is still alive and it must be unimaginable to lose a child at any age. The Queen Mum, as she is known was a hero to Scandinavians and others during WWII with her steadfast refusal to flee Britain during the blitz and her example of resistance to nazi aggression. My sympathies to the family