King Charles Said His Aunt Princess Margaret Had a ‘Dreadful Time’ the Last Few Years of Her Life
The death of Queen Elizabeth II’s sister, Princess Margaret, has been depicted in the sixth and final season of The Crown, bringing renewed interest into the end of the glamourous royal’s life and how her family reacted.
The Countess of Snowdon’s oldest nephew, then-Prince Charles, paid tribute to his aunt in a moving speech while Queen Elizabeth showed a very uncharacteristic side after the passing of her sibling.
Palace statement following Princess Margaret’s death and Charles’ tribute to his aunt
Princess Margaret died on Feb. 9, 2002, and the palace released a statement that read: “[Queen Elizabeth’s] beloved sister, Princess Margaret, died peacefully in her sleep this morning at 6.30 a.m. in The King Edward VII Hospital. Princess Margaret suffered a further stroke yesterday afternoon. She developed cardiac problems during the night and was taken from Kensington Palace to The King Edward VII Hospital at 2.30 a.m. [Her children] Lord Linley and Lady Sarah were with her, and the queen was kept fully informed throughout the night.”
In the biographyMa’am Darling: 99 Glimpses of Princess Margaret author Craig Brown wrote: “The end was so tragic, a half-paralyzed, bloated figure in a wheelchair but, I suppose, 50 years of cigarettes and whiskey had effectively destroyed her system.”
Following Margaret’s death, King Charles paid tribute to Margaret and was honest about her struggles later in life.
“This is a terribly sad day for all my family but particularly of course for the queen, my mama, and my grandmother, the Queen Mother, and also for Princess Margaret’s children, David and Sarah, and also my aunt’s wonderful friends who will, like all of us, miss her deeply,” he said in a recorded message that was broadcast on television. “My darling aunt had such a dreadful time in the last few years with her awful illness and it was hard for, let alone her to bear it, but for all of us as well and particularly as she had such a wonderfully free spirit, and she loved life and lived it to the full.”
He continued: “I remember so well, she used to play the piano incredibly well, and she had an extraordinary ear, she could pick up and play by ear almost any tune, and she sang like an angel, I always remember that as a child. And, of course, she had this wonderfully sharp mind and used to literally win crossword puzzle competitions, and I think one of the fondest memories I shall have was of sitting at the piano, playing away with a large, very elegant cigarette holder in her mouth, and as I say we shall all miss her dreadfully.”
Queen Elizabeth couldn’t hide her emotions at Princess Margaret’s funeral
Margaret’s funeral was held on Feb. 15, 2002, and on that day the normally stoic Queen Elizabeth couldn’t hold back her tears.
The queen was seen weeping outside the church as she stood alongside Margaret’s son and daughter.
“I think it was the only time anyone ever saw the queen show her emotions in public,” family friend Reinaldo Herrera wrote in Vanity Fair. “Never explaining anything to the world — what she feels, or why she does what she does. But for a few minutes that day, as she stood by the steps of St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle, watching her sister’s coffin being borne away, her eyes betrayed her.”
