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Jet-set friends got Princess Margaret 'barred' from US
By Andrew Alderson and Peter Day
(Filed: 14/09/2003)
Princess Margaret was barred by British diplomats from making an official visit to America in the early 1970s because of the wild behaviour of her entourage during an earlier visit, according to newly-released documents.
Lord Cromer, the British ambassador to America, did not want the Princess in the country because he was concerned that it would generate more harmful publicity for the Royal Family. His reservations were passed on to Buckingham Palace in 1973 when Lt Col Frederick Burnaby-Atkins, the Princess's private secretary, was deciding on the venue for a royal tour.
Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon in 1973
The Princess, known for her racy behaviour before and after her marriage to Lord Snowdon in 1960, had apparently caused controversy during a 1965 visit to America with her husband.
The views of Lord Cromer, who died in 1991, are revealed in a memo from Lees Mayall, the Vice-Marshal of the Diplomatic Service, who was responding to her private secretary's desire to organise a foreign tour for the Princess.
According to the newly released documents at the National Archives in Kew, which have been made public under the "30-year rule", Lt Col Burnaby-Atkins complained that a visit by Princess Margaret to Western Australia in 1972 had lacked purpose.
"She still has a hankering to go to Canada (and possibly the USA) having last done a big thing there some time ago. She would, I think, take on anything challenging."
The desire from the Princess to travel on a second official visit to North America was ended by Lord Cromer, who was ambassador to Washington from 1971-74. He made clear that he did not want a repeat of the raucous scenes of 1965 when the couple mixed with the Hollywood set.
Mr Mayall wrote in a memo to the Foreign Office committee on royal tours: "You will remember that Lord Cromer is not at all keen on having the Princess in the United States, possibly for some time to come. This is mainly due to the behaviour of some of HRH's friends, who tend to take such visits very lightly."
Lord Cromer had based his concerns on reports of the 1965 tour that were given to him by Sir Patrick Dean, the British ambassador to America at the time.
That visit attracted mixed publicity as Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon toured the west and east coasts of America. During a visit to Los Angeles, the couple met several film stars, including Paul Newman, Judy Garland, Grace Kelly and Elizabeth Taylor.
William Hamilton, the anti-monarchist Labour MP, had been scathing about the £30,000 cost of the visit, equivalent to £350,000 today. During the tour, the Princess upset more than one Hollywood star.
Judy Garland took exception to a message given to her at a party in Beverly Hills. An aide told Ms Garland that the Princess would like to hear her sing and the actress reportedly called her a "nasty, rude little princess", and said: "Tell her I'll sing if she christens a ship first."
Grace Kelly objected to the Princess's comment: "You don't look like a movie star." The actress is said to have replied: "Well, I wasn't born a movie star."
At a White House reception in Washington, the Princess was the guest of President Lyndon B. Johnson. Back in Britain, newspapers carried headlines about "jet-set parties" and asked: "Who pays?"
It is unclear which friends had behaved in a way to gain such disapproval from British diplomats. The timing of the visit was, however, before she struck up her controversial friendship with Roddy Llewellyn, three years before formally separating from her husband.
Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon had gone to America in 1965 after an invitation from Sharman Douglas, the daughter of a former US ambassador to Britain. Miss Douglas organised a glamorous programme for the party that was in addition to the official visits.
Afterwards, Sir Patrick Dean's report hinted strongly at some of the shenanigans during the private part of the tour over which he had little or no control. "They worked and played hard," he said of the royal couple. "It was a mistake that so much of their time was spent with and organised by Miss Sharman Douglas, though she did her best, after her own fashion, to make sure the visitors had a gay and amusing time.
"However, the keynote was the 'jet set' and it was not always possible to persuade the public that HRH and Lord Snowdon were serious as well as gay people.
"Hosts must understand that it does the royal party no good to turn the period of rest into a jamboree of actors and photographers, as was the case with the visit to the Douglas family."
Princess Margaret did not visit the USA in 1973, touring Barbados and Germany instead. She did, however, make later official visits to the US. She died last year aged 71.
Lord Snowdon said yesterday that he could not remember which friends had joined him and the Princess on the 1965 tour of America. "I have no idea why there should have been any objection to what went on," he said.
Buckingham Palace said yesterday that it was "not appropriate to comment on historical government advice to the Royal Family".
Christopher Warwick, a biographer of Princess Margaret, said: "Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon were the Royal Family's representatives of the Swinging Sixties. They did wave the flag for Britain in 1965, but it's fair to say that the visit was more pleasure than duty."
By Andrew Alderson and Peter Day
(Filed: 14/09/2003)
Princess Margaret was barred by British diplomats from making an official visit to America in the early 1970s because of the wild behaviour of her entourage during an earlier visit, according to newly-released documents.
Lord Cromer, the British ambassador to America, did not want the Princess in the country because he was concerned that it would generate more harmful publicity for the Royal Family. His reservations were passed on to Buckingham Palace in 1973 when Lt Col Frederick Burnaby-Atkins, the Princess's private secretary, was deciding on the venue for a royal tour.
Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon in 1973
The Princess, known for her racy behaviour before and after her marriage to Lord Snowdon in 1960, had apparently caused controversy during a 1965 visit to America with her husband.
The views of Lord Cromer, who died in 1991, are revealed in a memo from Lees Mayall, the Vice-Marshal of the Diplomatic Service, who was responding to her private secretary's desire to organise a foreign tour for the Princess.
According to the newly released documents at the National Archives in Kew, which have been made public under the "30-year rule", Lt Col Burnaby-Atkins complained that a visit by Princess Margaret to Western Australia in 1972 had lacked purpose.
"She still has a hankering to go to Canada (and possibly the USA) having last done a big thing there some time ago. She would, I think, take on anything challenging."
The desire from the Princess to travel on a second official visit to North America was ended by Lord Cromer, who was ambassador to Washington from 1971-74. He made clear that he did not want a repeat of the raucous scenes of 1965 when the couple mixed with the Hollywood set.
Mr Mayall wrote in a memo to the Foreign Office committee on royal tours: "You will remember that Lord Cromer is not at all keen on having the Princess in the United States, possibly for some time to come. This is mainly due to the behaviour of some of HRH's friends, who tend to take such visits very lightly."
Lord Cromer had based his concerns on reports of the 1965 tour that were given to him by Sir Patrick Dean, the British ambassador to America at the time.
That visit attracted mixed publicity as Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon toured the west and east coasts of America. During a visit to Los Angeles, the couple met several film stars, including Paul Newman, Judy Garland, Grace Kelly and Elizabeth Taylor.
William Hamilton, the anti-monarchist Labour MP, had been scathing about the £30,000 cost of the visit, equivalent to £350,000 today. During the tour, the Princess upset more than one Hollywood star.
Judy Garland took exception to a message given to her at a party in Beverly Hills. An aide told Ms Garland that the Princess would like to hear her sing and the actress reportedly called her a "nasty, rude little princess", and said: "Tell her I'll sing if she christens a ship first."
Grace Kelly objected to the Princess's comment: "You don't look like a movie star." The actress is said to have replied: "Well, I wasn't born a movie star."
At a White House reception in Washington, the Princess was the guest of President Lyndon B. Johnson. Back in Britain, newspapers carried headlines about "jet-set parties" and asked: "Who pays?"
It is unclear which friends had behaved in a way to gain such disapproval from British diplomats. The timing of the visit was, however, before she struck up her controversial friendship with Roddy Llewellyn, three years before formally separating from her husband.
Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon had gone to America in 1965 after an invitation from Sharman Douglas, the daughter of a former US ambassador to Britain. Miss Douglas organised a glamorous programme for the party that was in addition to the official visits.
Afterwards, Sir Patrick Dean's report hinted strongly at some of the shenanigans during the private part of the tour over which he had little or no control. "They worked and played hard," he said of the royal couple. "It was a mistake that so much of their time was spent with and organised by Miss Sharman Douglas, though she did her best, after her own fashion, to make sure the visitors had a gay and amusing time.
"However, the keynote was the 'jet set' and it was not always possible to persuade the public that HRH and Lord Snowdon were serious as well as gay people.
"Hosts must understand that it does the royal party no good to turn the period of rest into a jamboree of actors and photographers, as was the case with the visit to the Douglas family."
Princess Margaret did not visit the USA in 1973, touring Barbados and Germany instead. She did, however, make later official visits to the US. She died last year aged 71.
Lord Snowdon said yesterday that he could not remember which friends had joined him and the Princess on the 1965 tour of America. "I have no idea why there should have been any objection to what went on," he said.
Buckingham Palace said yesterday that it was "not appropriate to comment on historical government advice to the Royal Family".
Christopher Warwick, a biographer of Princess Margaret, said: "Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon were the Royal Family's representatives of the Swinging Sixties. They did wave the flag for Britain in 1965, but it's fair to say that the visit was more pleasure than duty."
