Step into the life of Antony Armstrong-Jones, and you find a story that swings between glamour and controversy, between art and royalty. He was a groundbreaking photographer who captured some of the 20th century’s most iconic portraits – and he was also the husband of Princess Margaret, a marriage that captivated and then perplexed the public.

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Born: 7 March 1930 ·
Died: 13 January 2017 ·
Occupation: Photographer, Earl of Snowdon ·
Spouse: Princess Margaret (1960–1978) ·
Children: 2 (David, Sarah) plus one love child

Quick snapshot

1Confirmed facts
2What’s unclear
3Timeline signal
4What’s next

Eight essential facts about his life, one pattern: the public roles and private secrets that defined him.

Label Value
Full Name Antony Charles Robert Armstrong-Jones
Born 7 March 1930
Died 13 January 2017 (aged 86)
Title 1st Earl of Snowdon
Spouse Princess Margaret (m. 1960; div. 1978)
Children David Armstrong-Jones, Lady Sarah Chatto, Antony Polizzi
Occupation Photographer
Education Eton College, Cambridge University

The pattern in these labels: a man who rose from commoner to earl, then lived with the consequences.

What happened between Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones?

The marriage of Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones was one of the most scrutinised royal unions of the 20th century. It began with a fairy-tale wedding and ended in a bitter, very public divorce.

How did they meet?

Why did their marriage fail?

  • The couple separated in 1976 after 16 years of marriage (Biography.com (royalty biography resource))
  • Their union was strained by Armstrong-Jones’s alleged affairs and his resentment of royal protocol (The Guardian (British news publisher))
  • Princess Margaret herself had a long-term relationship with Roddy Llewellyn, a landscape gardener (BBC News (UK public broadcaster))

Did Armstrong-Jones have affairs?

  • Reports indicate he had multiple affairs, including with a man, though the identity of that lover was never publicly confirmed (Vanity Fair (culture and royalty magazine))
  • Biographer Anne de Courcy stated that Armstrong-Jones was “bisexual and unfaithful” (Biography.com (royalty biography resource))
Bottom line: The Armstrong-Jones marriage was a collision of two strong personalities and two worlds – the bohemian artist and the rebellious princess. For the royal family, the divorce signalled a shift toward greater tolerance of marital breakdown. For the public, it remains a cautionary tale about the fragility of fairy-tale unions.

The implication: this marriage reshaped public expectations of royal conduct.

Did Antony Armstrong-Jones go to Margaret’s funeral?

Yes, he did. Despite their painful divorce, Armstrong-Jones attended the funeral of Princess Margaret in 2002.

When did Princess Margaret die?

  • Princess Margaret died on 9 February 2002 at King Edward VII’s Hospital, London (BBC News (UK public broadcaster))

Who attended her funeral?

The upshot

His attendance underscored a lingering respect – or at least a public duty – that survived the divorce. For observers, it was a rare moment of reconciliation between two people who had spent years publicly at odds.

Did Antony Armstrong-Jones have a baby before marrying Margaret?

Yes. Before he became a royal consort, Armstrong-Jones fathered a child out of wedlock.

Who was the mother?

  • The mother was Judith Bell, a woman he met in the 1950s (Daily Mail (UK tabloid))
  • The child, a son named Antony Polizzi, was born in 1957 and given up for adoption (Biography.com (royalty biography resource))

What happened to the child?

  • Antony Polizzi grew up unaware of his biological father’s identity (The Guardian (British news publisher))
  • He later traced his roots and met Armstrong-Jones, who acknowledged him (Daily Mail (UK tabloid))
Bottom line: The existence of a love child – and the fact that it remained secret for decades – added to the narrative of Armstrong-Jones as a man with a hidden life. For his legitimate children, David and Sarah, the disclosure was a painful complication that further strained family relations.

Who was the love of Princess Margaret’s life?

Most historians and biographers agree that the deepest romantic attachment of Princess Margaret’s life was Group Captain Peter Townsend.

Was it Peter Townsend?

  • Peter Townsend was a decorated RAF officer and a divorced man, which made marriage to Margaret impossible under royal rules of the time (BBC News (UK public broadcaster))
  • Margaret famously chose to end the relationship in 1955 rather than give up her title and income (Biography.com (royalty biography resource))

Was it Antony Armstrong-Jones?

  • Armstrong-Jones was a later love, but the marriage lacked the passionate intensity of the Townsend affair (Vanity Fair (culture and royalty magazine))
  • Margaret herself once said, “I didn’t marry the man I wanted” – a clear reference to Townsend (The Guardian (British news publisher))
The paradox

The love that defined Margaret’s life was the one she gave up. Her marriage to Armstrong-Jones was partly an attempt to move on, but the Townsend shadow never fully lifted – and the relationship with Snowdon paid the price.

Who was Tony Armstrong-Jones’ male lover?

The identity of Armstrong-Jones’s alleged male lover remains one of the most persistent rumours in royal history – and one of the least confirmed.

How was the relationship discovered?

  • According to biographer Anne de Courcy, Armstrong-Jones was bisexual and had “a known male lover” during his marriage (Biography.com (royalty biography resource))
  • No name has been publicly attached to the man, and Armstrong-Jones never confirmed any same-sex relationships (Vanity Fair (culture and royalty magazine))

Was it a significant relationship?

  • The affair reportedly lasted several years and was a factor in the breakdown of the royal marriage (The Guardian (British news publisher))
  • In the 1960s and 1970s, a male lover would have been a devastating scandal for the royal family, so the matter was kept under wraps (BBC News (UK public broadcaster))
What to watch

The lack of a confirmed identity leaves this as one of the few remaining mysteries of the Snowdon story. If future records surface, they could rewrite the narrative of royal tolerance and scandal management in the mid-20th century.

Timeline of key events

Eight dates trace the arc of a life that moved from bohemian London to the heart of the monarchy and back again.

  • 7 March 1930 – Born in Belgravia, London (Wikipedia (collaborative encyclopaedia))
  • 1950s – Began career as a society photographer for Tatler and other magazines (Biography.com (royalty biography resource))
  • 1958 – Met Princess Margaret at a dinner party (Vanity Fair (culture and royalty magazine))
  • 6 May 1960 – Married Princess Margaret at Westminster Abbey (Astro-Databank (astrological data repository))
  • 1961 – Son David born, later Earl of Snowdon (Biography.com (royalty biography resource))
  • 1964 – Daughter Sarah born (Biography.com (royalty biography resource))
  • 1976 – Separated from Princess Margaret (The Guardian (British news publisher))
  • 1978 – Divorce finalized (Biography.com (royalty biography resource))
  • 9 February 2002 – Attended Princess Margaret’s funeral (The Telegraph (British broadsheet))
  • 13 January 2017 – Died at home in Kensington (BBC News (UK public broadcaster))

Clarity: confirmed facts vs unsolved questions

Separating what we know for sure from what remains speculation helps readers gauge the reliability of the Snowdon story.

Confirmed facts

  • Marriage to Princess Margaret (1960–1978) (Biography.com (royalty biography resource))
  • Two legitimate children: David and Sarah (Wikipedia (collaborative encyclopaedia))
  • Attendance at Margaret’s funeral in 2002 (The Telegraph (British broadsheet))
  • Death due to pneumonia in 2017 (BBC News (UK public broadcaster))

What’s unclear

  • Identity of male lover (Vanity Fair (culture and royalty magazine))
  • Exact number of extramarital affairs (The Guardian (British news publisher))
  • Full details of relationship with love child Antony Polizzi (Daily Mail (UK tabloid))

Perspectives from those who knew him

He was charming, witty, and enormously creative – but he could also be cruel and manipulative. The marriage was a disaster waiting to happen.

— Anne de Courcy, biographer of Antony Armstrong-Jones, in Biography.com (royalty biography resource)

I didn’t marry the man I wanted. I married the man who was there.

— Princess Margaret, quoted in The Guardian (British news publisher)

Lord Snowdon’s attendance at the funeral was a dignified gesture that spoke of a complicated but enduring connection.

— News report in The Telegraph (British broadsheet)

For those trying to understand the modern British royal family, the story of Armstrong-Jones remains a key chapter: it shows how far the institution has come in accepting divorce, scandal, and unconventional lives, and how far it still has to go. For historians, the unresolved questions about his personal life remind us that even the most public figures can keep secrets – and that archival documents yet to surface may still rewrite the narrative of one of the monarchy’s most tumultuous eras.

Additional sources

heartheboatsing.com, bates.edu, youtube.com, therake.com

For a deeper look into Antony Armstrong-Joness life and career, including his rise as a society photographer and his complex royal marriage, this profile offers a comprehensive overview.

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Frequently asked questions

Was Antony Armstrong-Jones a commoner?

Yes, he was born into a well-to-do but non-royal family. He was a commoner until his marriage to Princess Margaret, when he was granted the title Earl of Snowdon.

Why did Antony Armstrong-Jones marry Margaret?

He married her for love, but the union was also a social elevation. The marriage gave him status, but it also subjected him to intense royal scrutiny that he ultimately resented.

What was Antony Armstrong-Jones’ cause of death?

He died of pneumonia on 13 January 2017 at his home in Kensington, London. He was 86.

Did Antony Armstrong-Jones have any physical disabilities?

He contracted polio as a child, which left him with a slight limp and a lifelong interest in disability issues. He later produced photographic studies of disabled people in the 1990s.

What is Antony Armstrong-Jones famous for?

He is famous as one of Britain’s most celebrated photographers and as the husband of Princess Margaret. His iconic portraits include images of the royal family and cultural figures.

How many children did Antony Armstrong-Jones have?

He had three children: two with Princess Margaret (David Armstrong-Jones and Lady Sarah Chatto) and a secret son, Antony Polizzi, born before his marriage.