Princess Margaret’s affair with Roddy Llewellyn was a shock to her friends, it has been revealed.
It was particularly shocking to Lady Anne Glenconner, who along with her husband introduced the pair.
The situation became increasingly difficult when Lady Glenconnor and her husband introduced Margaret to Roddy Llewelyn, who was 17 years younger than her.
She recalled the incident: “I remember being on the doorstep when Colin drove back and Princess Margaret and Roddy were sitting in the back seat.
“They were more or less holding hands and I thought ‘Heavens, what have we done?’”
Dame Anne Leslie, who also knew the pair at the time, weighed in on the affair.
“He was a nice, dim gardener, but he came from quite a good family. Anyway, she was having it off with him.”
Another friend, Princess Josephine Loewenstein, described the couple’s time together on Mustique.
This is where they conducted much of their affair out of the public eye, before paparazzi discovered them.
“It was their bolthouse, let’s say. She adored it. She went there whenever she could.
“It was like a house party, and there was always something going on. She was centre of attention there.
The story will be revealed on Elizabeth: Our Queen, which airs on Channel 5 tonight at 9pm.
Tonight’s episode is based in the 1970s, after the death of the Duke of Windsor in 1972.
A previous episode described Princess Margaret’s shock three words to the Queen after she learned she would reign.
The exchange happened on 10th December 1936, which began as an ordinary day for Princess Elizabeth, who was 10 years old at the time.
Elizabeth was disturbed by sounds outside – she asked what was happening, and was told her uncle, Edward VIII, had abdicated and her father, George VI, had become king.
When Elizabeth II told the news to Margaret, her sister – who was six at the time – responded: “Well poor you!”.