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People Reveal What Tragedy Hit Their Hometown

People Reveal What Tragedy Hit Their Hometown
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Every community has its secrets––and its tragedies.

Today's burning question came from Redditor VanillaPeppermintTea, who asked the online community: "What was your hometown tragedy?"

Warning, sensitive material head.

"A couple years ago someone was backing out of their driveway..."

A couple years ago someone was backing out of their driveway and ran over the neighbor's 2 year old, killing the child. This horrible tragedy was almost overshadowed by the bitter divide the town had over who was to blame, the driver for not looking or the child's parents for not supervising.

It was becoming bad, until the local paper did a piece about car blind spots. They took a Ford Explorer and had pictures from the driver's seat of the rear and side mirrors. Then a picture from further away where you could see the SIXTY (60) kindergarteners that were sitting on the ground behind the car, invisible to the driver. Things calmed down after that.

LexSenthur

"There was a hunting accident..."

There was a hunting accident that occurred in my township when I was a kid. This boy and his dad (and some others, I think his uncle and a few of his dad's friends) went hunting, the kid's gun misfired, and his dad wound up dead. It was really f---ed up, and I still feel for that guy. After he graduated, he moved out of town and I don't even blame him.

rosegoldapathy

"A boy I grew up with named Tommy..."

A boy I grew up with named Tommy was found dead in his house with his video game paused, stabbed dozens of times. His family's housekeeper was also killed.

For five years there were no leads and no indication of a motive. Then a married couple was killed in a similar manner and investigators realized there was a connection. The husband had worked with Tommy's parents at a hospital and they'd fired a man named Anthony Garcia years ago. He ended up committing the four murders as an act of revenge.

jadecourt

"The tornado in 2011."

The tornado in 2011. The high-school had its graduation that day, and only a little while later, it killed families and new graduates. One kid was sucked out of his car's sunroof. Then, on top of everything, we all held out hope that we would find this woman's baby. We prayed and somehow convinced ourselves that for sure there'd be a miracle, but the baby was found floating in a pond on the other side of town. It was hard for everyone. I remember the smell of fire and rain as I stood on my grandma's porch and stared at how much nothing there was. The tornado killed over 100 people. We still haven't recovered as a town - there are memorials everywhere, we all talk about it every day.

MissourisOwn

"It ended up..."

Giphy

A guy that graduated 3 years ahead of me went hiking with his girlfriend (some mountain in South America). On the hike up the girlfriend walked to close to the edge of a cliff , the earth gave way and she fell off the cliff. The boyfriend could see her at the bottom still moving but could not get down to her, so in a panic ran to get help. He reached the ranger station and he led the rescue team back up the mountain. It ended up he forgot how to get back to the spot the girlfriend fell and it took multiple hours for them to find her. By the time they did she had died. The worst part was the boyfriend had planned this trip as a surprise proposal and had the ring in his pocket ready to propose at the summit.

ders413

"A bunch of high school kids got some booze..."

A bunch of high school kids got some booze and stole their parents' boat. One kid realized that his girlfriend was cheating on him with another guy and proceeded to throw the dude into the water and run him over. Happened a while ago, but my town is suuuuuper strict with underage drinking ever since

DefinitelyDevi

"7 years ago, it was raining super hard..."

7 years ago, it was raining super hard, and visibility was very low.

Around 3 in the afternoon a 4 year old little girl was struck by a car and killed. She was supposed to be watched by her grandmother, but old grandma was too busy ignoring her grandchild by locking herself in her room, she had no idea what happened until the police were banging on her front door.

Apparently, she neglected the little girl every time she would babysit, and very rarely supervise her outside, even though her house is right by a busy street. She went to prison.

I was neighbors with the family who lost the little girl, it was heartbreaking hearing the mother scream in pure sorrow when the police told her what happened.

That little girl would be 11 now.

Anteres

"After a few years, it started to take off..."

When I was in High School, our school had started doing those "Project Proms" things, where they'd rent out a fitness club and bring the students there so they weren't going to parties getting drunk.

After a few years, it started to take off, and they were getting good attendance. One year, a girl was in the hot tub at the club, dunked herself underwater. Her leg got caught on the filter drain, and the suction kept her underwater, drowning her.

Big deal obviously because a student died. It wasn't lost on anybody that these things were being held to keep students safe.

teke367

"So he and his buddies picked up their farming tools..."

An entire orphanage was slaughtered during the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s. It has been a long time since I was in the hometown (and I have only spoken about it with some elderly neighbors when I was ten)...but they've told me that when the Republicans took control of Sevilla (and sparked multiple uprisings across the region), a farmer somehow got the idea that a local orphanage was full of children of 'Communist Reds' and that they had to be wiped out while they were still 'maggots'.

So he and his buddies picked up their farming tools, made their way into town and killed all of the kids (there were a couple of nuns who tried to stop them. They wound up also killed). So many people were horrified when it happened (especially since it was a small town. Everybody knew everyone, so I could only imagine what it must've been like to see people like that covered in blood). When Franco took control--those farmers got off without a single arrest.

The farmer who started the killing lived well (while bragging that no one could touch him), up until 1976 when it was discovered that Franco had died (and we entered a democratic system instead of continuing with the old fascist one). That was when he started to live his life in fear (and by the time I was ten years old in the 90s, he was still trying to call the authorities and write letters about his 'situation', and would tell anyone who looked sympathetic that 'people were out to get him' and that he 'desperately' needed a policeman or a bodyguard to stay with him at home. Assh*le probably lived the end of his days terrified that someone was going to kill him for what he did.

MageLocusta

"Some girl from one of the middle schools..."

Some girl from one of the middle schools in our town (we had two) killed herself. The middle school she went to was filled with people who would harass her and faculty that never cared or did anything to help.

Also had a teenage girl who took lsd and was driving, because apparently none of her friends thought that was a bad idea, and wrapped her car around a tree.

Overly-curious

"My entire town..."

My entire town (it's small and surrounded by forests) was consumed by a massive wildfire a few years ago. The entire town had to be evacuated. Nobody died but entire neighborhoods were destroyed and thousands were permanently displaced. The other nearby towns were overcrowded with evacuees and lots of people ran out of gas on the highway to the nearest big city. We're still rebuilding in some spots today.

manmeasand

"There were a few deaths in my district recently..."

There were a few deaths in my district recently, but this one affected me most. Many years before the other incidents, my elementary school art teacher died of an unexpected heart attack. She left behind two teenagers and her husband. She was so loved by everyone in the school. I think that was the first time I saw a teacher cry. A few lessons before she died, I told her she was the best art teacher in the whole world. She was the sweetest person I've ever met, and I still cry about it sometimes. I'll never forget you Mrs. Newfield, rest in peace.

MusicalGarbage817

"Last class of the day..."

Last class of the day and the announcements come on. Principal announces a kid in my grade has died. Everyone hears the name and their jaws drop open. We don't live in a dangerous area at all and this kid had a great reputation. I didn't really know him personally, but I knew him as a classmate. On the friend group chat and everyone is freaking out when some says that the whole family is gone. His dad and his little sister, their mom is devestated. Here's what happened:

Both of them were at their dad's house (who apparently had a drinking problem) and he waited until they were both asleep. Then, he shot both kids in their rooms in their sleep and then shot himself. Kids didn't come to school so their mother was called. She freaked out and tried calling the dad's house, but then ended up calling the cops. They found all of them.

This happened last September and honestly, I still don't really know what to think of it.

Jrl03

"In 2017 cyclone Debbie..."

In 2017 cyclone Debbie dumped an unprecedented amount of rain on our region. Our town has a major river running through it. The flood breached the levies and around 7 people in the region died, houses decimated ect.

The tragedy that occurred a few days later still haunts me. A mother and her three children were driving home, the road they were on had been reopened but was still slick with flood mud. The car slid into the river and one child escaped, the rest passed away. The father was at work and suddenly he went from a father of a family of 5 to just him and his daughter. Absolutely heartbreaking.

Twaddle2000

"A man..."

A man killed his girlfriend a couple houses down from my house. Happened earlier this year, I'm pretty sure the man was an abusive drunk and he hit her so hard that she died.

MGHo2003

"Earlier this year..."

Earlier this year two girls from my high school were hit by a car while crossing the street to go to school. The driver of the car was actually a teacher from the same school. I witnessed the whole thing happen while getting dropped off. One of the girls was able to recover in a few days, while the other was in a medically induced coma for several months. She was given a 10 % chance of waking up, and just last month she did. She is in rehab now. I never knew the girls, but word around the school is that they are great people. I hope all goes well in their recovery. The teacher still works at the school btw.

randomguy0nline

"We've had a few."

We've had a few. Our most major was back in 2015/16. We'll call him MJ. Mj. was a junior at our high school and was adored by everybody. My brother used to do soccer with him back in travel so he was a close friend. He had done high school football and was pointing that towards his career. We have this big park with base ball fields, tracks, playgrounds, and a man made pond. Next to that pond was a volleyball court which meant the balls would fall into the pond a lot. Many people swam in to get the balls and no incidents ever happened when swimming in it even though you weren't aloud to. One morning, a few friends bet MJ to swim across the whole thing (about a football field length) for some money. He didn't think much of it, but also wasn't a strong swimmer. So he jumped in and started swimming across this pond. Soon enough pumps started going through to drain excess water in the pond from rain. This caused current to occur and he went under. The police were called in a matter of minutes and the other friends went in after him. Police came in 3 minutes time and went on a search for him. He was found dead soon after. This hit our town hard and we made a memorial for him. A few other incidents that have occurred was: a soccer friend, who's father was shot and robbed, a drowning of a four year old, a suicide of a man who jumped off a cell tower, and a girl who was kidnapped after meeting a guy online. (She is safe now but was really scary).

kxlie

"There was..."

There was a serial killer in my area. One day he just snapped and burned his house down with his wife in it. Before hiding in the woods for several days, he killed a couple in their car. He went missing for several weeks and he was found in the woods in our district. They showcased his arrest on the news and our school stopped classes briefly to watch it on the projector.

ya_girl567

"One of my best friends..."

One of my best friends when I was about seven had an unscrupulous exterminator treat his home for mice. The exterminator's methods ended up outright killing two of my friend's sisters. The house was empty for a long time after that; my friend moved out, and everyone talked about the incident in hushed voices for years.

Thunderstarer

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Princess Margaret might have grown up in the shadow of her older sister Queen Elizabeth II, but she didn’t stay that way. By the time she was a teenager, the young, beautiful, and fashionable princess was the talk of the town…and not for the right reasons. From her scandalous bedroom tastes to her tragic end, Margaret’s life was far from a fairy tale.

1. Her Birth Was Surprising

Princess Margaret was born on August 21st, 1930 in Glamis Castle in Scotland. But her beginning wasn't what many people think. See, little Margaret wasn’t actually directly in line for the crown. Her father was a younger son of the King of England, and no one in the family expected to make it to the throne. Well, that all changed—and quickly.

2. She Became Bona Fide Royal Through Scandal

File:King Edward VIII and Mrs Simpson on holiday in Yugoslavia ...commons.wikimedia.org

When Margaret was just five years old, her family had a transformation of fortunes. Her uncle became King Edward VIII, but then infamously abdicated in order to marry his love, Wallis Simpson. Suddenly, Margaret’s father was King George VI, and she was second in line to the throne after her older sister Elizabeth. Still, it might have been the worst thing to ever happen to her.

3. Her Mother Controlled Her

Margaret’s upbringing is probably surprising to a lot of people. Although she was a royal and had access to the best teachings money could buy, her mother decided that her daughters would only receive a bare-bones education, since she aimed to make them simply “nicely behaved young ladies". Later on, this had disastrous consequences for Margaret.

4. She Had A Weapon Of Choice

File:Young Queen Elizabeth 1952.jpg - Wikimedia Commonscommons.wikimedia.org

As a child, Margaret idolized her older sister Elizabeth, and, as we'll see, the two carried on a close relationship into their adulthood. Still, there was a hefty amount of sibling rivalry, too, and the girls often came to blows. According to their governess, while Elizabeth liked to throw punches, little Princess Margaret was much more of a biter.

5. Her Family Hid Her Away

While Margaret grew up in her gilded bubble, dark rumors started swirling. When she was a young girl, people saw so little of her that a persistent whisper claimed she was actually deaf and mute, and that her parents were hiding her from the public. Eventually, the family dispelled the rumors...but it didn’t take long for more to start, and these ones were all too true.

6. She Was A Spoiled Brat

File:King George VI LOC matpc.14736 (cleaned).jpg - Wikimedia Commonscommons.wikimedia.org

Growing up as second in line to the throne would turn anyone into a spoiled brat, but this went double for Princess Margaret. Her father King George loved his respectable elder daughter Elizabeth, but he absolutely doted on Margaret, claiming that while Elizabeth was his “pride,” Margaret was his “joy". And soon enough, Margaret's spoiled upbringing started to show.

7. Her Father Indulged Her

People around the British court started to notice just how much the King let Margaret get her way, even allowing the 13-year-old girl to stay up past her bedtime and attend lavish royal dinners. Many aides began to worry about the Princess, especially as she grew into a beautiful, vivacious, and very willful young woman...

8. She Was The Center Of Attention

File:Margaret prinses van Engel (Bestanddeelnr 092-1353).jpg ...commons.wikimedia.org

By the time she was barely a teenager, Margaret could already walk into a room and light it up. One courtier commented that she was “full of character and very tart". Another noted her burgeoning good looks and how she was "very sure of herself and full of humor,” though also said she “might get into trouble before she’s finished". Well, that trouble started early.

9. Her Governess Tried To Ban Her

Surprise, surprise, Margaret's charm had a dark side. Her own governess, Marion Crawford, thought Margaret was an attention hog, especially when it came to taking the attention away from her more “important” sister Elizabeth. To try to curb the habit, Crawford actually once wrote to a friend, “Could you this year only ask Princess Elizabeth to your party?,” not wanting Margaret to come in and steal the thunder.

10. She Overshadowed Her Sister

File:Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret starring in wartime Aladdin ...commons.wikimedia.org

Even Princess Elizabeth admitted that Margaret could take the wind of her sails—it’s just that she didn’t mind it. Elizabeth, reserved and taciturn, actually liked that Margaret was so forceful, colorful, and irresistible. As she once said, “Oh, it's so much easier when Margaret's there—everybody laughs at what Margaret says". Too bad the sisters’ relationship didn’t stay so harmonious.

11. Her Mother Was A Spitfire

As WWII broke out, there was pressure for the royal family to relocate to Canada for their safety. Of course, this didn’t happen. Instead, they braved the danger with everyone else in England. In response to pressure, Margaret’s mother famously retorted, "The children won't go without me. I won't leave without the King. And the King will never leave". Wonder where Margaret got her stubbornness from.

12. She Resented Her Upbringing

File:GoreVidalVanVechten1.jpg - Wikimedia Commonscommons.wikimedia.org

Even at this point, Margaret was chomping at the bit for some challenges in her life. After all, she'd spent WWII inside and away from harm, and by then she felt completely resentful of her mother’s limited education for her. As her acquaintance Gore Vidal later recalled, "She was far too intelligent for her station in life". Is it any wonder she rebelled?

13. She Had A Famous Feature

As Margaret entered her 20s, she was one of the most stunning women in the royal family. She famously had a slender 18-inch waist and “vivid blue eyes,” and her good looks and pedigree got her into the most exclusive circles and clubs in London. Before long, the press dubbed her and her fashionable group of aristocratic friends “The Margaret Set". Then again, they weren’t always just “friends”…

14. She Was A Party Girl

File:Princess Margaret in Cyprus, 1977.jpg - Wikimedia Commonscommons.wikimedia.org

While out on the town, Princess Margaret gained a reputation as “the world’s most eligible bachelor-girl” for the sheer number of men swooping in and out of her limo on late nights. Her little black book was a veritable who’s who of Britain’s gentry, from millionaire heir Billy Wallace to future Canadian Prime Minister John Turner. Yet as it turned out, Margaret only had eyes for one man.

15. She Nursed A Huge Crush

One constant presence in Margaret’s life was her royal aide, Group Captain Peter Townsend, a dashing war hero more than 15 years her senior. Townsend worked for Margaret’s parents and was their great favorite; many even said that King George treated Townsend like a long-lost son. Well, familiarity must breed romance, because Margaret was head over heels before she knew it.

16. Her Love Was Taboo

File:Princess Margaret and Sir Raynor Arthur.jpg - Wikimedia Commonscommons.wikimedia.org

Margaret and Peter’s love story is now infamous, but few people know their scandalous beginnings. The palace first employed Peter when Margaret was just 13 years old, yet the teenager had her eye on the new arrival from the very start—even though he was already taken. When Margaret met him on his first day, she turned to Elizabeth and said, “Bad luck, he’s married". This only got worse.

17. She Flirted With Danger

Apparently, the vivacious Margaret wasn’t going let a little thing like holy matrimony—or their ridiculous age difference—get in the way of having her fun with Townsend. She flirted with him shamelessly, even once demanding he carry her up the stairs after a party, all in full view of her father King George VI. But harmless fun quickly turned into dangerous liaisons.

18. She Had An Exotic Romance

File:Peter Townsend (1914-1995).jpg - Wikimedia Commonscommons.wikimedia.org

In 1947, Margaret’s family finally let her come with them on a state visit abroad—her first ever—to South Africa. But they made a fatal error. Ironically, Peter Townsend was her “chaperone” for the visit, and they often went riding together. Margaret later admitted that she fell in love with Townsend on this trip. But as for Townsend? Well…

19. She Had An Unrequited Love

For all that Princess Margaret was determined to seduce Peter Townsend, he wasn’t exactly sold on the idea at the beginning. In fact, many sources report that he, like most of the palace courtiers, saw Margaret merely as an “indulged child". Accordingly, Townsend treated her very distantly and firmly, and they had a bit of a love/hate start…at first.

20. She Seduced A Man

File:Øvrevold. Peter Townsend - L0060 922Fo30141701170265.jpg ...commons.wikimedia.org

According to Townsend himself, there was one exact moment where he realized that he was deep in love with Margaret, too. He claimed it happened in 1951, while the entire family was out for a picnic together. Under King George’s watchful eye, Margaret woke Townsend up from a nap, and he suddenly couldn’t deny his feelings.

Even so, Townsend was still very much married, and it would take an absolute tragedy to bring them together.

21. She Suffered An Enormous Tragedy

In the early 1950s, King George’s health started failing, thanks in part to his rampant smoking habit. Margaret’s father went under the knife for lung cancer, but surgery didn’t make things any better. On February 6, 1952, the monarch passed, making Margaret’s sister Queen Elizabeth II—and throwing the princess into a total tailspin.

22. She Fell Into A Crisis

File:King George VI and Princess Elizabeth.jpg - Wikimedia Commonscommons.wikimedia.org

Princess Margaret was incredibly close with her father, and his passing crushed her. She called him, “such a wonderful person, the very heart and center of our happy family". With that center gone, Margaret suffered from bouts of ill health and had trouble sleeping, even seeking out a sedative prescription to help numb her pain. And there was more upheaval to come.

23. She Got Her Deepest Wish

1952 was already shaping up to be a stressful year for Princess Margaret, but then Peter Townsend had to throw her another curveball. The palace aide went and divorced his wife, suddenly making him a free agent and fair game at last. I’d say Margaret made the rational decision and took it slow…but when has this girl made rational decisions?

24. She Had A Secret Rendezvous Spot

File:INF3-75 pt1 HRH Princess Margaret.jpg - Wikimedia Commonscommons.wikimedia.org

Thrown together by their grief and the respective total messes of their personal lives, Townsend and Princess Margaret soon began seeing each other in secret. Margaret had private apartments in the already secluded Clarence House, and the pair made good use of their alone time, visiting regularly on the down-low. Then, the inevitable crisis hit.

25. She Got An Indecent Proposal

As it turns out, people who are trauma-bonded go fast and hard in love, and Townsend proposed marriage to Margaret in April 1953, just over a year after her father’s passing. Margaret, who had been a love-sick girl for Peter right from the get-go, gave him an ecstatic yes in response. Except there was just one more enormous problem…

26. Her First True Romance Was A Disaster

File:Øvrevold. Peter Townsend - L0060 922Fo30141701170161.jpg ...commons.wikimedia.org

As a divorced man, Townsend’s betrothal to Margaret presented a catastrophe for the monarchy. After all, the government and the Church of England had just denied Margaret’s uncle Edward VIII his marriage to Wallis Simpson for much the same reasons. Plus, since she was only 23 years old, Margaret also had to ask her sister for permission to marry anyone at all. It, uh, did not go well.

27. Her Sister Forced Her To Keep A Secret

When Princess Margaret informed her elder sister and sovereign of her steamy romance, Queen Elizabeth II definitely didn’t welcome it with open arms. Afraid of the stir it would cause at the beginning of her reign, Elizabeth insisted that Margaret wait for a year and keep the relationship a secret until after her coronation. Guys, this ALSO didn’t go well.

28. She Accidentally Revealed Everything

File:Princess Margaret 1965b (cropped).jpg - Wikimedia Commonscommons.wikimedia.org

Margaret and Townsend tried their best to keep their love under wraps, although some foreign papers did get wind of a romance brewing. But on coronation day, chaos really broke loose. In a casual, thoughtless moment during the ceremony, Margaret fondly picked some lint off of Townsend’s coat—and the press went wild.

29. She Became A Lurid Tabloid Story

Suddenly, seemingly every newspaper in the United Kingdom started weighing in on Margaret’s princess-and-pauper relationship with the civilian Townsend. They did not mince words, either: Most publications were appalled at the idea, with The People even running the headline “They Must Deny It NOW". Still, that was just the beginning of the nightmare.

30. The Government Turned On Her

File:British Houses of Parliament.jpg - Wikimedia Commonscommons.wikimedia.org

Within months, England had gone into full constitutional crisis mode. The parliament and the Church of England predictably criticized the match, insisting that Margaret denounce her royal privileges and allowance if she wanted to go through with the marriage. Yet within the inner circle of Buckingham Palace, things were even more tense.

31. Her Own Family Rejected Her Suitor

Margaret’s royal brood was totally torn over her girlhood romance. Elizabeth’s husband Prince Phillip detested the idea of Townsend becoming part of the family, and he let everyone know it. Meanwhile, Elizabeth herself just wanted her sister to be happy, yet felt bound to tradition and couldn’t say yes to the union. Instead, they came up with a desperate plan.

32. She Came Up With An Escape Plot

File:Queen Elizabeth in Aden 1954.jpg - Wikimedia Commonscommons.wikimedia.org

To buy Margaret more time, Elizabeth begged her sister to wait another couple of years, until she turned 25. At this time, she would no longer need to ask the monarch for permission to marry. If her infatuation with Townsend lasted, she could wed him then, all while Elizabeth avoided a crisis. It was supposed to be the perfect solution...in reality, it was a complete disaster.

33. She Had Multiple Flings

For one, Margaret and Townsend had to separate during this time, and many courtiers hoped that absence would make their hearts grow weaker. For a hot minute, it looked like they were right: While Townsend studiously avoided spending time with women, Margaret gallivanted around town with a series of men on her opera-gloved arm. But the lovers were hiding yet another secret.

34. She Had A Side Piece

File:Clarence house.jpg - Wikimedia Commonscommons.wikimedia.org

During the entire time that they were supposed to be apart, Townsend was still secretly meeting with Princess Margaret. He would travel in from the continent for nights and weekends at their old love nest at Clarence House, or else stay with friends if he wanted to look super incognito. And then the long-awaited day came…

35. Her Birthday Was The Talk Of The Town

On August 21st, 1955, Princess Margaret turned 25—and everyone in Britain noticed. Hundreds of reporters swarmed Balmoral Castle, thirsting for any drop of news, and newspapers set up “ring watches” for Margaret’s hands. As one publication put it, "Nothing much else than Princess Margaret's affairs is being talked of in this country". But they’d have to wait for the next development.

36. She Had A Public Courtship

File:Prinses Margaret , Lord Snowdon en Prins Bernhard in de ...commons.wikimedia.org

Months later on October 12th, 1955, Peter Townsend returned back to England, this time as Margaret’s official suitor. For the next weeks, the princess and the Group Captain courted each other at various dinners around town, all while the entire nation held their breath to see what Margaret would do. In the end, it was nothing but a tragic disappointment.

37. She Made A Shocking Announcement

After weeks of speculation, no betrothal had yet materialized—and that's when Margaret dropped an absolute bombshell. On October 31st, she released an official statement declaring “I have decided not to marry Group Captain Peter Townsend". After such a whirlwind romance, the populace was flabbergasted and at a loss for her reasons…but we now have an idea what they were.

38. Her Sister Gave Her A Heart-Warming Gift

File:Queen Elizabeth II - 1953-Dress.JPG - Wikimedia Commonscommons.wikimedia.org

One of the biggest urban legends around Margaret’s split from Townsend is that Queen Elizabeth II is to blame for their breakup. Nothing could be further from the truth. Official documents reveal she was working tirelessly to change certain policies to make it easier for her sister to marry. Instead, the main culprit was something much more heartbreaking.

39. There Was One Thing She Wouldn’t Give Up

Although some aspects of the scandal remain a mystery, one of them is very clear: Margaret didn’t think she could live as a civilian. One way or another, marrying Townsend would mean giving up her royal allowance, and they simply couldn’t live on the money he took in. That didn’t mean it didn’t hurt like heck—and Margaret’s next actions didn’t help matters.

40. She Rebounded Hard

File:Princess Margaret.jpg - Wikimedia Commonscommons.wikimedia.org

Many people believed that Margaret would never marry after losing Townsend—after all, she had waited so long that most of her eligible male acquaintances were now married. That’s not what happened. Soon after disentangling herself, Margaret took up with her old friend Billy Wallace, even accepting his proposal of marriage. Sadly, it too ended it heartbreak.

41. She Got Her Heart Broken Again

Wallace wasn’t exactly the best rebound for poor Princess Margaret. First, he called her relationship with Townsend “girlish nonsense that got out of hand,” which definitely smacks of insecurity to me. Even worse, he cheated on the princess while on a trip to the Bahamas. Thankfully, Margaret broke things off when she found out, but it was out of the frying pan and into the fire…

42. She Fell In Love With A Rebel

File:Antony Armstrong-Jones 1965b.jpg - Wikimedia Commonscommons.wikimedia.org

In 1958, Margaret met bohemian photographer and man about town Antony Armstrong-Jones at a dinner party. On the surface, he represented everything she was looking for in a man: Dashing, daring, and bound to anger the establishment. They fell into a hot, heavy, and above all secret romance. Then, like everything Margaret did, it moved fast—too fast.

43. She Had A Quick Engagement

In October 1959, Armstrong-Jones got down on one knee and proposed to Princess Margaret with a stunner of a ruby engagement ring, surrounded by diamonds and shaped into a rosebud. For the third time in her life (that we know of anyway), Margaret said yes to her suitor. But there was a chilling reason behind her answer.

44. She Got Back At Her Ex

As it turned out, Margaret couldn’t quite forget about her first love Peter Townsend. She actually accepted Armstrong-Jones’s proposal the day after finding out that Townsend was planning to marry a beautiful Belgian woman named Marie-Luce Jamagne. It was a desperate revenge on Margaret’s part...and it gets even more twisted than that.

45. Her First Love Was Creepy

The thing is, Townsend probably wasn’t over Princess Margaret either. Eerily enough, Marie-Luce was the spitting image of the young royal, down to her long oval face, dark hair, and captivating eyes. Still, Margaret and Peter now seemed done forever (hint: they might not have been). It was enough to make any woman rush into a totally doomed wedding.

46. She Had A Fairy Tale Wedding

File:Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip host Queen's Dinner for ...commons.wikimedia.org

On May 6th, 1960, Princess Margaret finally walked down the aisle, tying the knot with Armstrong-Jones in a lavish ceremony at Westminster Abbey. True to her fashion-plate reputation, Margaret wore a Norman Hartnell dress with the stunning, gigantic Poltimore tiara. Yet for all that the procession looked good, there was something missing…

47. The World Snubbed Her

If you looked closely at Margaret’s wedding ceremony, you might have noticed a disturbing absence: Almost no foreign royals attended. They refused to accept Margaret’s marriage to a common photographer, and only Queen Ingrid of Denmark was a noble guest Margaret wasn’t directly related to. If you're wondering, this was definitely a bad omen.

48. She Got A Bizarre Present

On the surface, the beginnings of Princess Margaret’s marriage were wedded bliss. Her possible ex-lover Colin Tennant even gave the new couple a plot of land on his private Caribbean island, Mustique, and it soon became one of Margaret's favorite getaway spots. For the record, I also accept tokens from my exes in the form of tropical land grants.

49. Her Life Looked Perfect

For a brief moment, the public good times kept on rolling for the couple. Although Armstrong-Jones fought privately against getting a title, the newlyweds soon became the respectable-sounding Countess and Earl of Snowdon. By 1964, they also had two children, David and Sarah, together. But behind the scenes, it was falling apart.

50. Her Husband Betrayed Her

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In truth, the Snowdons had massive, reality TV levels of dysfunction. Antony, who was openly bi, had no qualms about going after nearly every bedroom prospect that came his way; as one friend put it, “If it moves, he'll have it". Before the ink was dry on Margaret's marriage certificate, Antony had had more than a few late night sleepovers.

51. Her Husband Abandoned Her

On top of all that, their marriage was a total mismatch of personalities and goals when it came to relationships. Armstrong-Jones was a workaholic, and Margaret often complained that he was never around and that she was constantly lonely. But don’t go thinking the princess was totally blameless…because she certainly wasn’t.

52. She Had A Huge Addiction

If Armstrong-Jones was a workaholic, Princess Margaret was hiding a much darker addiction. She'd always been a partier and had even dabbled in hard substances, but good old alcohol was her dangerous drug of choice. So when her husband was off working, Margaret was often hitting the bottle. Oh, and there was that other thing…

53. She Slept With Famous People

File:Mick Jagger (1982).jpg - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org

Although Armstrong-Jones had a steady stream of male lovers and mistresses behind Margaret’s back, she didn’t have a leg to stand on. In the 1960s, she embarked on a string of extramarital affairs of her own, and there are rumors she even fell into the beds of celebrities like Mick Jagger and Warren Beatty. But, as it happens, Margaret’s very first indiscretion was one of her worst.

54. She Did Her Daughter Dirty

When the princess first dipped her toe into infidelity in 1966, she went big and went home with none other than her own daughter’s godfather, the vintner Anthony Barton. I mean, this doesn’t seem particularly smart on her part, but I guess there’s no accounting for taste. Even so, Margaret had a more notorious affair up her sleeve.

55. The Public Caught Her In A Lie

In 1967, Margaret engaged in a brief affair with Robin Douglas-Home, a nephew of a former British Prime Minister. However, she later denied everything and insisted their relationship was platonic. Until, that is, she was caught red-handed. Her love letters to him came out, spilling the beans—and her lies—to the world. And somehow, it got messier.

56. She Was A Black Widow

In the end, Princess Margaret had a good reason to deny the fling, given the tragic way it all turned out. Robin Douglas-Home never really recovered from their breakup, and Margaret’s denials probably did nothing to comfort him. Then, just 18 months after their romance fell apart, he fell into a deep depression and took his own life.

57. She Could Be Heartless

File:Prinses Margaret en Lord Snowdon Anglo Nederlandse ...commons.wikimedia.org

Around this time, Margaret's famous wit took on a very mean streak, reflecting her own bitter personal life. Once while she was at a fashionable party in New York, a fellow guest asked the princess how the Queen was doing. Margaret's reply was legendarily cruel. She sniped, “Which one? My sister, my mother, or my husband?” And her claws only sharpened as time went on.

58. She Had A Biting Wit

It now didn't take much for Princess Margaret's serene facade to crack, even in public. One time at an event, she sat next to the supermodel Twiggy. For two hours, the princess flat-out refused to speak to her companion, but eventually turned to her and asked who she was. “I’m Lesley Hornby, ma’am, but people call me Twiggy,” Twiggy said. Margaret's only response? "How unfortunate".

59. Her Husband Wrote Her Hate Mail

By the late 1960s, Princess Margaret’s marriage to Armstrong-Jones had turned into a tragedy. And one day, her husband went way too far. The Earl of Snowdon started putting little notes around the house and in books for Margaret to find, but they weren’t love letters—oh, no. Instead, they said horrific things like “You look like a Jewish manicurist and I hate you". Dear GOD.

60. Her Family Dealt Her A Cruel Blow

Despite Armstrong-Jones’s obvious mistreatment of the Princess, Margaret had very little in the way of a support system. Sadly, her stiff-upper-lip family often took her husband’s side in their squabbles, thinking that it was just Margaret being dramatic again. The tension and anxiety got so bad, even Margaret's psyche started changing...

61. She Had Terrible Nightmares

a black and white photo of a woman wearing a tiaraPhoto by Museums of History New South Wales on Unsplash

According to Margaret herself, she often suffered horrific and recurring nightmares. The subject of these nightmares? Her own sister Queen Elizabeth II. In these dreams, the younger princess would imagine disappointing her sibling again and again. It’s no surprise, then, that Margaret's personal life eventually hit an infamous breaking point.

62. She Had A Boy Toy

Desperately lonely and almost entirely estranged from her husband, Princess Margaret started what she called a “loving friendship” with a man named Roddy Llewellyn, a landscape gardener 17 years younger than her. She even invited him for several visits to her private island of Mustique…and that’s maybe where it became less “friendship,” more “loving”…

63. She Tried To Kill Herself

Honestly, I don’t begrudge Princess Margaret getting her groove back—but her relationship with Roddy quickly turned dangerous. She grew so dependent on him that one day when he left on a spontaneous trip to Turkey, she became despondent and overdosed on sleeping pills to shut out the world. And the real scandal was yet to come.

64. There’s One Infamous Photo Of Her

In the winter of 1976, a notorious photograph hit the British tabloids. The snap showed Princess Margaret and her supposed boy-toy Roddy Llewellyn sunning themselves on the beach in Mustique, clad only in their swimsuits. Politicians immediately and cruelly denounced Margaret as a “floosie” and a “royal parasite,” but the photo’s real damage was to her marriage.

65. She Had A Scandalous Divorce

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After the tabloids hung Margaret’s dirty laundry all over their front pages, the British public could see just what a downward turn her “fairy tale” marriage had taken. With the jig up, Margaret and Antony finally sought a separation (and thank goodness for that), officially divorcing in 1978. However, Margaret’s tragedies were far from over.

66. She Lost Her Beauty

The moment Margaret finally got rid of Armstrong-Jones, the bloom of her beauty seemed to die on the vine. She was in her late 40s, single again, and the weight of the world was back on her shoulders. After seeing her briefly at a party, photographer Cecil Beaton recalled that, her “eyes seem to have lost their vigor, her complexion is now a dirty negligée pink satin". Yet his reaction got harsher.

67. Karma Came For Her

Margaret's acerbic wit had won her many enemies, and Beaton was apparently one of them. He not only compared Margaret unfavorably to Queen Victoria on this occasion, he all but gloried in the loss of her youth. As Beaton continued, “She was not very nice in the days when she was so pretty and attractive...But, my God, has she been paid out!”

68. She Was A "Burlesque" Of Her Sister

By the end of her life, many thought that Princess Margaret became a parody of herself. The caliber of her lovers plummeted, and her crudeness only grew with her disturbing drinking habits. Even the most casual monarchists felt she disgraced her family name, and people started characterizing her as a “nightclub burlesque of her sister". Wow.

69. She Loved Dirty Party Tricks

Another one of Margaret’s more scandalous alleged lovers at this time includes the gangster John Bindon. Shockingly, Bindon claimed they embarked on an affair after he awed the princess with a lewd but admittedly impressive party trick—balancing five half-pint glasses upon a part of his body that, uh, I won’t name here. Look, use your imagination.

70. She Was A Snob

File:Prinses Margaret aan de lunchtafel in het Amstel Hotel ...commons.wikimedia.org

Although Margaret maintained a kind of young, care-free, and fashionable image to the public, many said that her real personality was much different—and much darker. She could be incredibly snobby when she wanted to be, and some even claimed she looked down on her own grandmother because she was a lower-rank princess.

71. She Had A Scandalous Daily Routine

Margaret's daily routine as an adult was just as spoiled as it was when she was a little princess, only with darker twists added in. When she was in her mid-20s, she often insisted on having her breakfast in bed. After that, she would get into freshly laundered clothes; she only wore an outfit once before washing it. Then, she'd wander downstairs for a mid-morning "vodka pick-me-up". Natch.

72. She May Have Been Involved In A Robbery

In 1971, the infamous “Baker Street Robbery” of Lloyds Bank occurred, where a gang tunnelled through the building and emptied hundreds of safety deposit boxes. But there may be more to the story. According to some conspiracies, the burglary was actually a cover-up to retrieve some “compromising” photos of Margaret. In some versions, MI5 hatched the whole plot to protect the Princess’s honor.

73. Her Friends Dropped Her

Perhaps the greatest sadness at the end of Princess Margaret's time was how all her fair-weather friends left her one by one. Still, she also pushed them away: The diarist Sir Roy Strong wrote that Margaret became “tiresome, spoilt, idle and irritating" during her later years and he complained that, “She has no direction, no overriding interest. All she likes is young men". Honestly though, same.

74. Her Body Started To Fail Her

Eventually, Margaret's lifestyle caught up with her. In addition to her other unsavory habits, the princess was also a near lifelong smoker, having started when she was just 15 years old at the latest. By the 1980s, she needed to have doctors remove her left lung, a procedure that eerily recalled her father’s demise. Sadly, her own end was near.

75. She Had A Steep Decline

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In the 1990s, the Princess began to go downhill fast. She suffered a series of strokes, and also scalded her feet in a bathroom mishap, leaving her bedridden or wheelchair bound for months on end. By 2001, she was partially paralyzed and even had difficulty swallowing. Although the Windsors are famously long-lived, the once-vibrant Princess Margaret wasn’t going to make it long.

76. She Had A Direct Line To Her Sister

Despite shows like The Crown playing up the rifts between Queen Elizabeth and Princess Margaret, and despite the incredible hardships the two royals went through, they remained close. At one point, Margaret even installed a direct line from her home in Kensington Palace to Elizabeth's quarters in Buckingham Palace so they could always stay in touch.

77. She Was Much Different In Private

Princess Margaret could be bright, witty, and informal, but she also had her "average" moments too. As her governess once recalled, "Impulsive and bright remarks she made became headlines and, taken out of their context, began to produce in the public eye an oddly distorted personality that bore little resemblance to the Margaret we knew".

78. She Had A Cute Nickname

She might be “Princess Margaret” to us, but the royal family was very close-knit at the time, and all gave each other nicknames. While they called Elizabeth “Lilibet,” they most often called Margaret “Margot".

79. Her Name Might Have Been Different

Although her family nicknamed her "Margot," her birth name was almost completely different. Margaret's mother actually first wanted to name her "Ann," and she was "very anxious" to get her way. Except, well, she didn't. Her husband King George didn't share his wife's love of the name, and vetoed it completely. Thanks a lot, patriarchy.

80. She Met An Eerie End

File:St George's Chapel from the Altar, Windsor Castle, from ...commons.wikimedia.org

On February 9, 2002, Princess Margaret passed in King Edward VII’s hospital at the age of 71, after her long and difficult battle with multiple illnesses. The day holds an eerie meaning. Following a decline that looked much like her father’s, Margaret also passed just three days after the 50th anniversary of King George VI’s own death.

81. She Stooped To New Lows

As Margaret's addictions to cheap drinks and sleazy men deepened, she developed some seriously tragic habits. According to one rumor, she got so used to smoking and drinking constantly that she simply glued matchboxes to her tumbler glasses to make for easier access to both vices. Is this dignified? Heck no. Is it genius? Yes.

82. She Just Couldn’t Quit Her First Love

Late into Princess Margaret’s life, people still wondered if she continued to carry a torch for her dashing Group Captain Peter Townsend after all these years. Few people know the real story. Even after their official announcement and split, the pair saw each other on and off, though they swore it was only in a friendly capacity. But there’s more…

83. Her Letters May Reveal The Truth

Although the Princess and her captain maintained they were only platonic in the decades after their romance, Margaret also made one final visit to Townsend in 1992, just a few years before his death, showing that they still kept tabs on one another. In reality, we may not know the full truth until much later. Their palace will release their love letters 100 years after Margaret’s birth, in 2030.

84. Her Husband Gave Her One Final Insult

Even in death, Princess Margaret couldn’t escape the horror show that was her marriage with Antony Armstrong-Jones. In 2004, a vicious report came out claiming that just three weeks into his marriage with Margaret, Armstrong-Jones fathered an illegitimate daughter with a mistress he had been seeing during his royal engagement. Oh, and it doesn’t end there.

85. Her Ex Told A Huge Lie

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At first, Armstrong-Jones vehemently denied paternity, despite the fact that the girl, Polly Fry, claimed she had done a DNA test and that he was most certainly the father. Yet four years later, he finally admitted that the story was true. Seriously, only Antony Armstrong-Jones could do Princess Margaret so wrong even after she died.

While not all relationships will last, that does not necessarily mean that every relationship that ends was a bad one.

Sometimes we walk away with some lovely memories of our ex-partners, and even mementos and gifts we'd rather keep than burn.

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