She was known as the rebel princess, and even in death,
she bucked tradition. This is the true story of Princess Margaret's passing and funeral.
Princess Margaret was 71 when she died on February 9, 2002, after enduring health
troubles for years. A bout of pneumonia put her in the hospital in 1993, and five years later,
she had the first of a series of strokes. The first one affected her speech, and the third left
her partially paralyzed after an earlier injury to her feet had already hampered her mobility.
Some critics implied that Margaret's ailing health was her own fault — a consequence of years spent
drinking and smoking to excess. But those who knew her pushed back on the idea that she was
just someone who chased pleasure. An anonymous friend told The Guardian that the princess's
substance use was typical for her generation. And if it did increase later in life, it was to
cope with the tragedies she suffered. The friend also claimed that by the late 1990s, Margaret had
almost entirely given up smoking and drinking. Alas, her health still continued to decline.
Margaret's last public appearance before her death was in a wheelchair,
at the 100th birthday party of Princess Alice before Christmas
2001. Her official cause of death was complications from another stroke.
The day after Margaret's death, British Prime Minister Tony Blair offered a public tribute,
as well as condolences to the royal family. Similar messages were delivered by the leaders
of every major political party in Britain, as well as the Archbishop of Canterbury,
Pope John Paul II, and Rabbi Dr. Jonathan Romain. Several
of the statements mentioned Margaret's acts of service and religious faith.
From the royal family, a public show of grief came from her nephew Prince Charles.
He remembered growing up in awe of Margaret's musical talents and spoke of her "wonderfully
free spirit." He also noted how difficult it was for the family to cope with the effects
of her strokes and extended his condolences to anyone dealing with something similar.
"We shall all miss her dreadfully."
But as heartfelt as these messages were, they weren't on the same scale as those
made after Princess Diana's death in 1997, or the Queen Mother's later in
2002. The reactions of the British public and media were also restrained. Reporters from
The Guardian found some Britons confused about whether Margaret or the Queen Mother had died,
and others were at a loss to remember much about the princess. But those who did appreciate her
left flowers at Kensington Palace or signed a book of condolence in St James' Palace.
Princess Margaret's funeral was held six days after her death on February
15. During the time in between, her coffin was kept in St. James' Palace
in London. But before it was brought over from her home in Kensington Palace,
her sister Queen Elizabeth II visited the body for a private farewell. The trip to the palace was
her first time out since Margaret's passing, and she tended to her family's loss before resuming
regular duties. The queen then continued to wear black during the mourning period.
The coffin was covered with a flag bearing Margaret's personal standard and decorated
with white flowers. It was taken to St James' by a hearse in a procession led by two pipers, one
of them being the Queen's Pipe Major. They played "The Skye Boat Song" as they escorted the coffin.
Compared to other royal deaths, Margaret's saw fewer tributes and mourning from ordinary
Britons. They were free to visit St James' to pay their respects,
and some did so. There were also online tributes through the royal family's official website,
which suggested that mourners contribute to the charities and organizations the princess
had supported. Additionally, the House of Commons granted Margaret a minute of silence.
Princess Margaret is believed to have had a strong hand in planning her own funeral,
and one key choice set her apart from tradition. Instead of a burial,
she wanted to be cremated. That wasn't completely unprecedented,
though no member of the British royal family had opted for cremation since Princess Louise in 1939.
Lady Glenconner, a friend and lady-in-waiting of Margaret's, offered two possible reasons for this
decision. As she explained to The Scotsman, the princess wanted to be interred with her
father King George VI in St George's Chapel on the grounds of Windsor Castle. That wouldn't
have been possible with a burial, but by being cremated, there would be room in the royal vault.
"And there was only room, really, for ashes."
Had Margaret chosen to be buried, her alternative resting place was
Frogmore, home of the tomb of Queen Victoria. According to Glenconner,
"She told me that she found Frogmore very gloomy."
The cremation itself was done at the local crematorium in the town of Slough. Far from
getting the royal treatment, it was handled as just one on the list of six
cremations for February 15 — a slow day for an operation that averaged 15 services a day.
When Princess Margaret died, her mother, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, was 101 years old,
and her own health had been declining for some time. When she stepped out to accept well wishes
on her 101st birthday, it was figurative, as she received the public from a buggy. She caught a
lingering cold over the 2001 Christmas season and suffered a fall at Sandringham [SAN-dring-uhm] on
February 13 — two days before Margaret's funeral., it was reported that the Queen
Mother's doctors advised her not to attend, as did Prince Charles and Queen Elizabeth.
But the Queen Mother wouldn't hear of it. To cut down on travel time, she took an RAF helicopter
to see her younger daughter put to rest. An ambulance was reportedly on standby for her,
and care was taken at her request to keep her from being seen in a wheelchair.
Just over a month later, on March 30,
the Queen Mother also passed away. She then joined her husband King George VI and their
daughter Margaret in the royal vault of St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle.
"The Queen Mother mysteriously and miraculously waited until the one
day of the year when she could've died without any inconvenience to anybody."
Princess Margaret didn't have a state funeral, as it was intended to be a private affair. In royal
circles, that translated to 450 mourners, with several hundred members of the public
reportedly gathered outside Windsor Castle. If that guest list sounds large, the private nature
of the funeral was evident in other ways. The public presence at Windsor was considerably less
than the masses who had arrived to pay their last respects to Princess Diana a few years earlier,
and it was a smaller reception than the Queen Mother would receive later that year.
In addition to Margaret's children and the family of Queen Elizabeth,
the mourners included her ex-husband Lord Snowdon. Poet laureate Andrew
Motion was asked to mark Margaret's passing with a poem. That was but one
sign of the princess's lifelong patronage of the arts, as many of her mourners were
artists and musicians. After the service, the congregation took tea at Windsor Castle.
Only a few members of staff attended Margaret's coffin at the crematorium at Slough, which was
by her own design. She was fourth in line for cremation on the day, behind Slough locals. Her
ashes were kept and later interred in the royal vault of St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle.
Queen Elizabeth's relationship with her sister Princess Margaret was complex. Though Elizabeth
was four years older, they were raised as if they were twins, according to royal biographer Andrew
Morton. When they were born, they and their father were not in direct line for the throne,
so they spent part of their childhood without that responsibility hanging over them. For the
rest of their lives, Margaret would privately call her sister by her family nickname, Lilibet.
After their uncle, King Edward VIII, abdicated, Elizabeth became the heir to her father King
George. When she eventually became queen, it added a new wrinkle to her relationship with
her sister. Elizabeth was naturally inclined to stoicism, whereas Margaret was inclined
to exhibitionism. That dynamic translated into their public reputations. Well into adulthood,
there were reports of Margaret's jealousy of her sister, despite publicly supporting
her. The queen's role in Margaret's doomed romance with Peter Townsend was another source of tension.
However, according to Morton, Elizabeth was much more on her sister's side than rumor had it.
After the Queen Mother's death, Elizabeth gave a public address thanking everyone
for their condolences, though she didn't mention Margaret. According to Morton,
she felt that she couldn't bring up her sister without crying. Margaret's funeral
was one of the few times anyone witnessed the queen becoming emotional in public.
Princess Margaret's funeral was held on February 15, 2002 in St. George's Chapel
on the grounds of Windsor Castle. Her cremation and the relatively small size
of the service both broke from royal tradition. But St. George's Chapel,
which was constructed from 1475 to 1528, has long been the site of services and interments
for British royalty. Multiple kings are buried there, including Margaret's father, George VI.
Margaret's death was also connected to her father's in another way — her funeral occurred
on the 50th anniversary of his. George VI died on February 6, 1952 at the age of 56,
and his funeral was held on February 15 of that year. It broke tradition in its own way, as it was
the first royal funeral to be televised. But as a reigning sovereign, the king of Britain during
World War II, and the last emperor of India, George's was a state funeral. Thus, it was steeped
in ceremony and well-attended by the public, government ministers, and his fellow monarchs.
Some older Britons who lived through George VI's funeral and remembered Margaret as a
young princess found the scale of her service lacking. But most features of the funeral,
including its relatively small and unpublicized nature, were what she wanted.
"Margaret has both clung to her position and wanted to escape royal conventions."
Princess Margaret was known as a patron of the arts, especially music. At her funeral,
music of her choice was played in addition to the traditional hymns and laments. She
once told the BBC that her favorite piece was "Swan Lake" by Tchaikovsky,
which was included in her service, as was Brahms' second symphony.
A few months later, the late princess' musical tastes left their mark on another ceremony. On
April 20, a few weeks after the funeral of the Queen Mother, a memorial service was held for
Margaret in Westminster Abbey to mark the end of the mourning period for her and her mother.
Like the funeral, it was a limited occasion by royal standards, though it still saw 2,000
attendees compared to the 450 at the funeral. Prime Minister Tony Blair was in attendance
along with the royal family. Speeches given on the occasion noted Margaret's commitment to the arts.
But words took a backseat to music, as the service centered around a
performance of Gabriel Fauré's "Requiem." The Academy of St. Martin in the Fields'
40-piece orchestra was brought into the abbey for the occasion, and the choirs of three different
churches sang together. Performance of the "Requiem" featured noted opera stars Dame
Felicity Lott and Bryn Terfel. All of this was done according to Margaret's wishes.
Princess Margaret's funeral and memorial service weren't the last tributes to her. Ten years later,
a private memorial service commemorating both Margaret and the Queen Mother was held for the
royal family in St. George's Chapel. It was attended by Queen Elizabeth, Prince Philip,
Prince Charles, Camilla, Prince Harry, Anne the Princess Royal, Margaret's children, and the Duke
of York and his family. Outside of royal circles, attendees included some of Margaret's friends,
including playwright Tom Stoppard and the Queen Mother's biographer William Shawcross.
Speaking at the service was David Conner, the Dean of Windsor. Most of his words were spent
on the ties between members of the congregation and the deceased. During his speech, he said,
"Each of us here this morning will cherish some
special personal memories, memories that awaken sentiments of affection and respect."
The dean also praised what he called Margaret and the Queen Mother's "faithfulness to the nation."