Shocking royal bombshell claim about Princess Margaret emerges in new book
An upcoming Princess Margaret biography has made a bombshell claim about her health.
The book claims Queen Elizabeth II's younger sister suffered from fetal alcohol syndrome caused by Queen Elizabeth's drinking during pregnancy.
The disorder — which develops when a child is exposed to alcohol while in the womb — can cause lifelong behavioural troubles and physical disabilities.
Queen Mother Elizabeth, King Charles and Princess Margaret attend the ceremony of coronation of the Queen Elizabeth II. Picture: AFP
Pulitzer-nominated Meryle Secrest, author of several biographies on notable people, writes in Princess Margaret and the Curse: An Inquiry into a Royal Life, that Margaret — who died in 2002 at the age of 71 due to a range of health issues, including several strokes — didn't have any physical symptoms related to the disorder, but did suffer from constant mood swings, migraines and learning deficiencies that could be connected to it.
The royal author's book alleges that fetal alcohol syndrome could have played a significant role in the princess' personality.
Princess Margaret was born in 1930, more 40 years before fetal alcohol syndrome was discovered in 1973.
The book suggests that Queen Elizabeth, a known drinker, wasn't aware of the dangers or advised against drinking while pregnant as a result.
Queen Mother With Queen Elizabeth And Princess Margaret. Picture: Getty.
The future Queen Elizabeth was 4 when her sister was born, but the Queen Mother was allegedly turned off by alcohol during her pregnancy with Elizabeth.
'The sight of wine simply turns me up! Isn't it extraordinary! It will be a tragedy if I never recover my drinking powers,' the Queen Mother wrote in a 1925 letter to her husband, according to The Telegraph.
When Margaret entered the world on August 21, 1930, she was fourth in line to the British throne. Ahead of her were her uncle, Edward, Prince of Wales; her father, Albert, Duke of York, and her four-year-old sister, Elizabeth.
That changed dramatically six years later, when Edward abdicated to marry an American divorcee and the girls' father ascended the throne. What didn't change was their governess: Marion 'Crawfie' Crawford cared for both Margaret and the big sister she called Lilibet, spilling the beans, to the royal family's irritation, in her 1950 memoir, The Little Princesses.
'Margaret was often naughty,' Brown quotes Crawfie as saying. 'She would often defy me with a sidelong look.'
The royal sisters were close throughout their lives. Picture: Getty.
Bombshell claims have emerged about the Queen Mother in a new book. Picture: Getty.
While noting that Lilibet was motherly towards Margaret, the latter's behaviour often made the future queen 'uneasy and filled with foreboding'.
By her tweens, Margaret excelled at mimicry and was witty and sharp. But she could also be 'extremely tiresome,' Crawfie wrote, dawdling while dressing and 'pleased to know she kept us waiting'. It was a habit she never lost.
'For Lilibet, life was all about doing the right thing,' Brown said. 'For Margaret it was, and always would be, much more of a performance.'
The king's death, at 56, exacerbated the already strained relationship between Margaret and the Queen Mother. Although they lived one floor apart in Clarence House until 1960, when Margaret married, they often communicated by letters delivered by their butlers.
The Queen Mother reportedly disapproved of her daughter's all-day drinking and late-night socialising.
According to Brown, Margaret's beverage of choice was vodka and orange, which she downed as a 'pick-me-up' at 12.30pm daily. She would have half a bottle of wine for lunch and then wait for the afternoon drinks tray, which her butler would wheel in at around 5.30pm. She'd have a cocktail or two, wine with dinner and then have several whiskies with Malvern water before bed at 2am.
Originally published as Shocking royal bombshell claim about Princess Margaret emerges in new book
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