The hardest family decision Queen Elizabeth II faced

The hardest family decision Queen Elizabeth II faced

By Maddison Leach|

Queen Elizabeth has faced many tough decisions as a monarch, but it was a decision about her younger sister Princess Margaret that she really struggled with at the start of her reign.

Princess Margaret had fallen in love with Peter Townsend, a war hero and divorced father of two who was almost twice her age, and was desperate to marry him.

But nothing is that simple for a royal.

Princess Margaret was a different woman in her younger days. (AAP)

The match was frowned upon by both the government and the church, and Elizabeth begged Margaret to wait until she could give her consent as Queen for them to marry.

“She could have married him if she had chosen to,” explains Juliet Rieden, “But she would have lost her royal title and she would have lost the money.”

Rieden is Australian Woman’s Weekly editor-at-large and the author of The Royals in Australia, and she admits that the situation put strain on the sisters’ relationship.

LISTEN: The latest episode of The Windsors podcast delves into Queen Elizabeth’s life and relationship with her sister, Margaret. (Post continues below)

Especially because when Margaret initially asked for the queen’s permission to marry Townsend, Elizabeth refused.

“We know that cut very deep,” Rieden says, “That possibly was the one decision that her sister made that the two never really got over.”

It was a difficult situation, but when the new Prime Minister Sir Anthony Eden was elected Queen Elizabeth saw the chance to ensure her sister’s happiness.

A plan was devised to change the Marriage Act that was preventing Margaret from marrying.

The sisters were close as young girls, but the decision caused lasting pain. (AAP)

Prime Minister Eden would alter that act so that Margaret could marry Townsend without losing her royal title or allowance, though she and her children would be removed from the line of succession.

Everything was drawn up and ready to go, until just three days after the final proposal of the amended act was produced, Margaret made a shocking announcement.

To hear more about Margaret’s relationship with Peter Townsend and her shocking decision listen to the latest episode of The Windsors podcast here.
