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3. Princess Margaret did have a clandestine romance

Ben Miles as Peter Townsend and Vanessa Kirby as Princess Margaret in The Crown
Ben Miles as Peter Townsend and Vanessa Kirby as Princess Margaret in The Crown | Netflix

One of the most salacious subplots in The Crown’s first season centers on Margaret’s love life. Early on, learn that she’s having an illicit affair with a divorced equerry, Peter Townsend. She is bold with her affection toward him — so much so that it raises eyebrows in the palace and beyond.

Margaret and Townsend fell in love in real life, too. Even though she was 16 years younger than him, and he’d known her since she was a child, there was an undeniable spark between them.

And their love affair was also a subject of controversy, both among the royals, the parliament, and in Great Britain at large. In fact, this controversy truly did help drive them apart.

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