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  3. May
  4. 6
  5. Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon

Events on May 6 in history

Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon
1960May, 6

More than 20 million viewers watch the first televised royal wedding when Princess Margaret marries Anthony Armstrong-Jones at Westminster Abbey.

Antony Charles Robert Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon, (7 March 1930 13 January 2017) was a British photographer and filmmaker. He is best known for his portraits of world notables, many of them published in Vogue, Vanity Fair, and other major venues; more than 100 of his photographs are in the permanent collections of the National Portrait Gallery.

From 1960 to 1978 he was married to Princess Margaret, the sister of Queen Elizabeth II.

Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, (Margaret Rose; 21 August 1930 – 9 February 2002) was the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth and the only sibling of Queen Elizabeth II.

Margaret spent much of her childhood with her parents and sister. Her life changed dramatically at the age of six when her paternal uncle, King Edward VIII, abdicated to marry divorcée Wallis Simpson. Margaret's father became king and her sister became heir presumptive, with Margaret second in line to the throne. Her position in the line of succession diminished over the following decades as Elizabeth's own children and grandchildren were born. During the Second World War the two sisters stayed at Windsor Castle despite suggestions to evacuate them to Canada. During the war years Margaret was considered too young to perform any official duties and instead continued her education, being nine years old when the war broke out and turning 15 just after hostilities ended.

From the 1950s onwards, Margaret became one of the world's most celebrated socialites, famed for her glamorous lifestyle and reputed romances. Most famously she fell in love with Group Captain Peter Townsend as a young adult in the early 1950s. In 1952 her father died, her sister became queen and Townsend divorced his wife, Rosemary. He proposed to Margaret early the following year. Many in the government believed that he would be an unsuitable husband for the Queen's 22-year-old sister and the Church of England refused to countenance marriage to a divorced man. Margaret eventually abandoned her plans with Townsend and married photographer Antony Armstrong-Jones in 1960; the Queen made him Earl of Snowdon. The couple had two children, David and Sarah, before divorcing in 1978. Margaret never remarried.

Margaret was a controversial member of the British royal family. Her divorce received much negative publicity and her private life was for many years the subject of intense speculation by media and royal-watchers. Her health gradually deteriorated in the final two decades of her life. She was a heavy smoker for most of her adult life and had a lung operation in 1985, a bout of pneumonia in 1993 and at least three strokes between 1998 and 2001. She died in London on 9 February 2002 after suffering a fourth and final stroke at the age of 71.

References

  • Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon
  • Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon
  • Westminster Abbey

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Events on 1960

  • 17Mar

    Bay of Pigs Invasion

    U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs the National Security Council directive on the anti-Cuban covert action program that will ultimately lead to the Bay of Pigs Invasion.
  • 21Apr

    Rio de Janeiro

    Brasília, Brazil's capital, is officially inaugurated. At 09:30, the Three Powers of the Republic are simultaneously transferred from the old capital, Rio de Janeiro.
  • 9May

    Combined oral contraceptive pill

    The Food and Drug Administration announces it will approve birth control as an additional indication for Searle's Enovid, making Enovid the world's first approved oral contraceptive pill.
  • 4Jul

    Flag of the United States

    Due to the post-Independence Day admission of Hawaii as the 50th U.S. state on August 21, 1959, the 50-star flag of the United States debuts in Philadelphia, almost ten and a half months later (see Flag Act).
  • 29Oct

    Muhammad Ali

    In Louisville, Kentucky, Cassius Clay (who later takes the name Muhammad Ali) wins his first professional fight.

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