If Princess Margaret had an illegitimate son 53 years ago to Capt Townsend.....?

Question

then surely she would have been kept 'in hiding' before giving this baby up, as it would have been a disgrace in the fifties for her to have a child out of wedlock. Does anyone know if in fact she did 'disappear' from public life for about 6 - 12 months around 1953?

Answer 1

I'm only 26 so i don't know but I'm dissapointed at the previous answerers. Obviously this claim has some validity otherwise a respected judge would not have given the man the right to take this to court. Remember we aren't in possession of all the facts,whereas the lawmen involved are.

Answer 2

I only heard about this today. How come nobody mentioned a man thought he was her son before? It wouldn't matter where he was born if he's related to the royal family. William of Orange was Dutch. I think this man needs to have the answers he wants. If it's what he believes, then he should be offered a DNA test so that if it isn't true he can look in other places for who his natural parents are. he should have rights. I'm an adopted person, and we're all fed stories of being a special chosen child, that he could have taken the stories too seriously and really believes he's special. He doesn't have a receding chin or a horses face like many of the other royal family though. Then again, Prince William turned out OK so there's always a chance.

Being illegitimate only applies to the father. The mother is always recorded or seen as the mother, unless Margaret had special treatment because she's a royal. It seems pretty cruel to deny a person the right to know their heritage. He should be given the right to know his heritage.

Answer 3

it wold not surprise me if he is her son..remember she spend long periods in Mystique her island...and the weather was colder than it is today not hard to hide a bulge...my cousin hid hers till she went into labour under those GAP hooded jumpers...

Answer 4

No, I do not believe Robert Brown is really the lovechild of the late Princess Margaret and Captain Peter Townsend. He has no real hard evidence to prove it, and he "believes" the royal wills of Princess Margaret and The Queen's Mother may contain evidence to support his claim. So basically, he is not even sure himself. I honestly believe this guy is trying to scram the British royal family since he is truly going after their fortune. He also believes he is rightfully entitled to some of the princess' rumoured £7.6 million fortune and he should be 12th in line of succession to the British throne.

Even if this was proven to be real, I do not think the British family will "accept" him as part of the family. Obviously, if Princess Margaret secretly gave birth to him and gave him away, she or her family wanted to avoid this scandal, because it is an embarrassment. If they don't want to him acknowledge then, why would they do it now? According to the current British line of succession Act, illegitimate children are not recognized, and therefore, he cannot inherit any titles, styles or a place in line of succession. He may inherit any private fortune and personal assets left behind by his royal parent or relatives, however, only if he was included in their  final wills. That is why Robert Brown is going after the royal wills of Princess Margaret and The Queen’s Mother.

Answer 5

Why would any man have wanted to breed with that gin-soaked sow?

Answer 6

I was 12 years old when Princess Margaret gave up the man she loved because her sister would not give her permission to marry.  I could not understand why she didn't marry him anyway.  I think if she had been pregnant they would have allowed her to marry and give up her royal title.

Answer 7

This man is from Jersey,a crown dependency,but not a part of England,neither is he a naturalized Englishman or born under English parents(Capt Townsend was from Burma) and he is illegitimate therefore this man has no claim to the British Throne.

Answer 8

There ARE no illegitimate children...only illegitimate parents.

The Royal family history is full of such.   What odds one more?

Answer 9

It's really all nonsense, just another delusional fellow.  The reporters of the day were all well aware of her involvement with Townsend and would have been watching for any signs or pregnancy or unusual behavior.  While it might have been possible to keep things quiet more than 50 years ago, it's been a long time and someone is still alive to spill the beans.

best of luck to you!

Answer 10

Nothing to this story. It is just Monarchy bashing as usual.

Answer 11

I don't know whether she was 'missing' for any period of time but feel sure that someone would have got wind of it if there were any suspicion she were pregnant. There is always someone willing to crawl out of the woodwork and sell a story to the tabloids.

I think this man is probably deluded but short of a DNA test we will never truly know.

Answer 12

If you have a valid interest on the matter and a keen resolve to find out the "truth", I would suggest that you go to a library and ask for newspapers of the period you mention. Otherwise, just wait for the juicy gossipy bits on the tabloids. No true facts will emerge but they'll sell more, thanks to the likes of you.

Answer 13

I don't think so, but it seems unlikely that it would have happened without someone noticing it.  However, at that time I think the British press were still pretty respectful of the royal family, and if they  had wanted something hushed up it is not entirely impossible that they could have done it.