| How The Palace Split The Prince & Kate |
|
|
|
| Written by Joanne Leyland | |
| Monday, 16 April 2007 | |
|
Page 6 of 7 As can be seen with the now oft-forgotten story of Edward and the woman who has now all-but left public life and goes by the name of 'Katherine Kent', the reality is that is has long been an accepted part of royal affairs that a couple in love are made to prove their devotion and loyalty to each through enforced separation. In 1947, Princess Elizabeth embarked on an extensive tour of South Africa with her family. King George VI was especially grateful for the timing of the tour, it offering as it did the opportunity for the family to impose some distance between the 21-year-old future Queen and the man she had apparently loved since the tender age of 13. On her return to England, Lilibet revealed that her feelings for Prince Philip of Greece had not changed and "papa" finally but reluctantly acquiesced to his daughter's fervent wish that she be allowed to marry her Prince. Having seen for herself the often cruel ways of royal life, especially when it comes to affairs of the heart, Princess Margaret wasn't too concerned when she was informed her lover, Group Captain Peter Townsend, would be leaving the country to serve as a diplomat in Brussels. The young Princess naively believed she would be allowed to marry her divorceee boyfriend on his return to England. Throughout her life, Margaret repeated to friends that the family had always led her to believe that the marriage would be acceptable. Sadly, as she was to discover amidst a maelstrom of public sympathy and newspaper headlines, the move to eject Townsend from the country was the Establishment's cruel way of attempting to get Peter both out of their lives and, most importantly, out of Margaret's heart. However, the besotted Princess and her lover were to meet again, in secret, during one of Townsend's brief returns to Britain. 
Neither had the feelings of those in the royal hierarchy. Amidst a stream of newspaper headlines and gossip that the Queen's sister wished to marry a divorcee, Margaret and Townsend were forced to decide once and for all on their future and end the inreasingly damaging speculation. In October 1955, Clarence House released a personal statement from Margaret in which she declared: "I would like it to be known that I have decided not to marry Group Captain Townsend." "Mindful of the Church's teaching that Christian marriage is indissoluble and conscious of my duty to the Commonwealth, I have resolved to put these considerations before any others." 
In 1959, Townsend revealed his intention to marry his Belgium girlfriend, Marie Luce Jamagne, a woman whom many felt bore an eerie similarity to the Princess he loved and lost.On the very day she was informed of the news in a letter from Peter, Princess Margaret decided to embark on an ill-fated marriage with the colourful society photographer Antony Armstrong-Jones. Within the royal family, as we've seen with their reaction to the romance of Katherine Worsley and Prince Edward of Kent, class and status matters greatly. Although the Royal Family have indeed welcomed the parents of Sophie, the Countess of Wessex, into their lives, the harsh reality is this: the Queen's youngest son, Prince Edward, is not going to be 'The King'. Status is everything to the Windsors and their often snobbish courtiers. It's long been said that Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother often ignored Prince Harry (cruelly dubbed "the spare"), preferring instead to focus all of her attention on the 'heir', his elder brother William. This can be seen by the way in which King George VI's consort called William to her side during a 1995 photocall outside Clarence House on the occasion of her 95th birthday. Harry was left to languish in the background while the Queen Mother made sure the photographers captured forever the image of the past and future monarchs. 
Many within royal circles feel that a future King should marry, essentially, 'one of us'. That is, a member of the aristocracy or, the most welcome eventuality of all, a member of another Royal Family.For many years, it was mused that a suitable bride for William would be the beautiful (now unavailable) Princess Madeleine of Sweden. Thankfully, though, long gone are the days in which an heir to the throne was almost manhandled down the aisle to declare his love to a woman he barely recognised, let alone knew. |
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
