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Princess Margaret and Lord Snowden visit the Westcountry

Earl and Countess Snowden have a go on a Butlins joyride.

News 1965 3 mins Silent

From the collection of:

Logo for South West Film and Television Archive

Overview

Princess Margaret was the younger sister of the Queen Elizabeth II. In May 1960 Margaret married Antony Armstong Jones, a photographer and they took the title Earl and Countess of Snowden. Here, they are welcomed by the Bishop of Bath and Wells, the Right Reverend Edward Henderson and attend the Church of England Youth Council Conference held at Butlins Minehead.

Lord Snowden became the official royal photographer and has taken many personal photos of the Royal Family. Although the marriage ended in divorce in 1978, in the sixties and seventies the couple was the epitome of British high society at home and abroad and the two mixed with royals, aristocracy, politicians and celebrities alike. This went some way to softening public attitudes towards the monarchy and their eventual divorce may have made subsequent royal divorces more acceptable not just in constitutional terms.