She was the younger sister and only sibling of Queen Elizabeth II. Margaret was born when her parents were the Duke and Duchess of York, and she spent much of her childhood with them and her elder sister. Her life changed at the age of six, when her father succeeded to the British throne following the abdication of his brother Edward VIII.
Margaret's sister became heir presumptive , with Margaret second in line to the throne. Her position in the line of succession diminished over the following decades as Elizabeth's children and grandchildren were born.
During the Second World War , the two sisters stayed at Windsor Castle despite suggestions to evacuate them to Canada. During the war years, Margaret was too young to perform official duties and continued her education, being nine years old when the war broke out and turning fifteen just after hostilities ended. From the s onwards, Margaret became one of the world's most celebrated socialites , famed for her glamorous lifestyle and reputed romances.
Most famously, she fell in love in the early s with Peter Townsend , a married RAF officer in the royal household. In , her father died , her sister became queen, and Townsend divorced his wife.
He proposed to Margaret early in the following year. Many in the government believed that he would be an unsuitable husband for the Queen's year-old sister, and the Archbishop of Canterbury refused to countenance her marriage to a divorced man.
