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by Karel Roberts Ratnaweera

Saturday afternoon, on SKY TV is breaking news-Royal death. I heard the headline on radio Sri Lanka transmitting the BBC on SAT two.

SKY announced the death of Princess Margaret, Queen Elizabeth's only sister. The background music was Tchaikovsky, appropriately; there is something in Tchaikovsky that is foreboding. SKY was playing music from his ballets - 'Swan Lake,' Waltz of the Flowers' from the 'Nutcracker,'- and then, the beautiful 'Rose Adagio' from the 'Sleeping Beauty.' So appropriate as the sleeping princess lay asleep, forever.

It was a stormy night at Glamis Castle in Scotland, the seat of the Strathmores, Scottish nobility. The young Duchess of York, formerly the Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, the wife of Prince George, Duke of York-and now Britain's Queen Mother-was in labour for her second child.

Princess Margaret was born as it stormed through the night. She became the first English princess to be born in Scotland for 350 years. Someone wrote that it was fitting that she should have been born on such a night; her life was later to be a roller-coaster ride.

Christened Margaret Rose, the family lived happily in a house in London. Then came the drama of the events that led up to the abdication of their father's brother, King Edward V111, to be free to marry a twice-divorced American, Mrs. Wallis Simpson. The Duke of York became King George V1 and the lives of the young family were never the same again. Princess Elizabeth became Heiress Presumptive to the throne of England-presumptive because if the new young queen had a son, he would have been next in line to the throne.

King George V1 and Queen Elizabeth were crowned at Westminster Abbey in 1937 and lived in Buckingham Palace.

Then came World War 11. The young princesses were sent to live in Windsor Castle, the thousand year-old castle built by William the Conqueror, for their security.

In 1946,Elizabeth became engaged to young Lieut. Philip Mountbatten, nephew of Lord Louis Mountbatten and the wedding took place in November 1947. The chief bridesmaid was Princess Margaret, and it was around this time if not earlier, that the princess, aged 17 at the time of her sister's wedding, was turning into a glamorous young woman with a coterie of eligible young men round her.

Margaret came in for criticism from the public because she was seen smoking and drinking while still in her late teens. The paparazzi of that time got a shot of the Princess wearing a strapless evening dress, sitting with the King and Queen in the Royal box at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden , smoking through an elegant, long cigarette holder.

The Prince of Wales speaking on SKY TV last Saturday, said he recalled the princess one Christmas, playing the piano with a long, tortoise-shell cigarette holder in her mouth. She was playing and singing that perennial favourite from World War 11, 'Roll Out the Barrel'. Only the Princess knew the words, Prince Charles said, in affectionate tones.

It was shortly after Elizabeth's wedding that the world knew that Margaret was infatuated with a dashing young equerry to the King, Group Captain Peter Townsend, who was already married. He often accompanied the King and Queen and the Princess on official occasions and Margaret and he were thrown together frequently. By then ravishingly beautiful, the two were very much in love, but life was not going to be easy for them.

In 1951 Margaret celebrated her 21st birthday. The last moment. A sketch of the Norman Hartnell gown - a confection in tulle and satin, were published in the Lake House newspapers, but this writer does not know for certain whether it was in the 'Daily News' or 'The Observer.' Margaret was devastated when her father died in February 1952, peacefully in his sleep at the royal estate of Sandringham where the family had gathered for Christmas.

The King's funeral saw the royal women veiled and in full black. Margaret stood with them in a state of shock and grief.

June 2, 1953 saw the coronation of the new queen. Margaret had never looked more beautiful than on that memorable occasion in Westminster Abbey. Wearing a dress designed by royal designer Norman Hartnell, she wore an ermine-trimmed, velvet train flowing from her shoulders and a diamond coronet added to her radiance and glamour.

The British press recorded a poignant moment when Princess Margaret dusted off a piece of fluff from Townsend's uniform with a white, gloved hand. The gesture was said to leave no doubt in anyone's mind about what the couple felt for each other.

There were stories that Townsend once had to carry the princess upstairs after she had a little too much wine. She would be seen smoking in public, on occasions like the Badminton Horse Trials.

Margaret smoked in the Royal box at the opera and ballet in the presence of the queen and older relatives.

On State occasions such as the visit of a Head of State to Britain, she would take her place with the rest of the family, dressed for the event and would indulge in her smoking and, of course, drinking the wines and champagne served at such State dinners.

Margaret loved shoes with high and wedge heels because they added a couple of inches to her height and, although she looked petite, had a regal bearing. She was a fashion icon in her day just as Princess Diana was in hers, but their individual styles of dressing were far apart.

The princess' love of the Arts was well-known. She especially loved the ballet and became the first president of the Royal Ballet in 1957, as they reported on SKY last Saturday. She adored the Beatles and considered them to be poets as well as musicians, SKY reported. She enjoyed the music of the day and was said to have been an accomplished pianist, playing anything from Chopin to wartime and Broadway hits. She was shown on SKY asking the Fab Four for their autographs, saying that it was 'a valuable thing to give your children.'

Peter Townsend had divorced by the time of the coronation and the couple sought the soveriegn's permission to marry. The queen asked them to wait another year. Finally, the princess made a formal announcement that she would not be marrying the Group Captain. There were newspaper pictures of a sad princess leaving by car after a last private meeting with him. I recall an 'Evening Observer' page one picture of the Princess leaving Peter Townsend for the last time; the tears in her eyes were unmistakable. That was in 1955.

In 1958 she met a young, society photographer, Anthony Armstrong-Jones. She seemed to be smitten by him and they were married the next year.

'She made for herself a destiny,' an old friend told SKY TV. 'She was part imperious princess, part rebel,' he said, and although very much a fun-loving and vivacious young woman, would never let it be forgotten that she was a king's daughter.

Another friend told SKY that Margaret was stylish and charismatic. The point was made that Margaret's 'behaviour', such as it was - when she was a glamorous young woman, paled into insignificance when compared with the lifestyles of today's young royals. She once told Sarah Ferguson that she had brought disgrace on the royal family with her scandalous behaviour.

The marriage ended some years and two children later. Mr. Armstrong-Jones became the Earl of Snowdon after they married. Their son David, Lord Linley and the Lady Sarah Chatto were at their mother's bedside when she died.

Margaret loved to go to the races but it is said she hated hunting. She was in her element at royal meets such as Royal Ascot and the Epsom Derby. A succession of affairs followed, the most talked about being with Roddy Lewellyn, 17 years her junior.

It was during these times that a friend, Colin Tennant, later Lord Glenconner, offered her some land in the Caribbean. Margaret built her dream home on the island of Mustique where she held court for 30 years, until the time of her last illness. She suffered her first stroke on the island in 1998 and was flown back home to England.

Several years ago, Buckingham Palace announced that the Princess was in future to be known as Princess Margaret - the second name, Rose, was not to be used again. It was said somewhere that she did not like the name. Her birthday, August 21st officially marks the last day of summer. Could it be that she didn't like being 'the last rose of summer.' In the words of a famous song, possibly given its most poignant rendering by the legendary Italian soprano Emelita Gallicurci?

History, of course, will judge her, as it always does everyone who has ever played a part on the world stage.

The demonstrations of public grief in London these days has been only a shadow of the outpourings of emotion at Diana's death. For one thing, Diana was young and the nature of her death had shocked the world.

Diana once famously said she would not go quietly. Princess Margaret had told her family and friends that she wanted to 'slip away' without undue fuss. She did slip away at dawn last Saturday in the hospital named after her great-grandfather King Edward V11. Yesterday, the once fairytale beauty, born of a long line of kings, made her last journey to Windsor, as she had requested, to St. George's Chapel, in the grounds of Windsor Castle so beloved by her.

Reminiscing over the life of the princess, people who knew her were interviewed on SKY TV. Said one: 'She lived a fantasy life,' and another mused aloud: 'I think she would have been a very interesting Queen.

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