FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
When Princess Margaret announced on October 31, 1955, that she was ending her engagement to Peter Townsend, the nation hailed it as a love story that would remain among the most talked-about of the century.
The public saw it as a painful sacrifice: a princess forced to choose between love for a war hero and duty to the crown.
But secret government documents, released only after her death, show that she had more options than had been made public.
Townsend, a decorated World War II pilot and former royal court officer, was almost twice the princess's age and a father of two.
Their relationship, born quietly within the walls of Windsor, faced fierce opposition.
To avoid scandal, Townsend was sent to Brussels, while Margaret was left to choose between love and duty.
At the age of 25, she could marry without the Queen's permission, but at great cost: the loss of her royal title, income, and any privileges.
In the end, she chose the job. “I felt it was the right decision in the circumstances,” Townsend said in a 1978 BBC interview.
However, documents released in 2004 revealed that the British government had offered a compromise: Margaret could keep the title and income, if she only gave up her right to inherit the throne.
After the separation, Townsend returned to Belgium, where he married a wealthy heiress, while Princess Margaret, in 1960, married photographer Antony Armstrong-Jones – a marriage that ended in divorce in 1978.
In the end, their story remained a bitter memory of the clash between love and royal duty.
"I would be happy to see her again," Townsend said when asked about Margaret. "And I believe she would feel the same way."
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