PRINCESS MARGARET was the late Queen's beloved sister and was the first-ever senior royal to be cremated.
The late Queen was extremely close to her younger sister Princess Margaret who died in 2002 due to complications following a stroke.
In contrast to Queen Elizabeth II and the Queen Mother's state funerals Margaret's was a more muted affair which broke with royal tradition, not least because she was cremated – here's everything you need to know about the iconic royal including why she is understood to have chosen an unconventional burial.
Who was Princess Margaret?
HRH Princess Margaret was born on August 21, 1930, at Glamis Castle in Scotland, to King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (the late Queen Mother).
For several days the registration of the princess' birth was deliberately delayed in order to avoid her being numbered 13 and associated with its 'unlucky' connotations.
In 1936 Princess Margaret's world was turned upside down when her uncle King Edward VIII abdicated to marry divorcee, Wallis Simpson.
It meant her father, a reluctant Prince George, would become King and that her sister Elizabeth was now the country's future Queen.
At the tender age of six, Margaret was second in line to the British throne.
As a child, the princess was home-schooled alongside her sister and as an adult is said to have expressed disappointment about her "limited education".
Margaret enjoyed more freedom than her sister as she was not heir to the throne and was regarded as a fashion icon of the 50s and 60s, with her bold dress sense being dubbed The Margaret Look.
How many children did Princess Margaret have?
Princess Margaret and her husband her Antony Armstrong-Jones had two children – David Armstrong-Jones, also known as Viscount Linley, was born on November 3, 1961.
Their second child, a daughter named Lady Sarah Armstrong-Jones, was born on May 1, 1964.
In 1994, Lady Sarah married the actor Daniel Chatto, and the couple have two children together: Samuel and Arthur.
Following Princess Margaret's death Lady Sarah and David started a charity in her honour – the Princess Margaret Fund – which supports stroke research.
When did Princess Margaret die?
Princess Margaret died on February 9, 2002 at the age of 71, from cardiac problems following a stroke.
By 2001 the Princess had suffered several strokes, lost sight in one eye and most of the left side of her body was paralysed.
Tragically, just seven weeks after her daughter's death, the Queen Mother died in her sleep at the age of 101.
Why was Princess Margaret cremated?
Unlike any senior royal before her, Princess Margaret chose to be cremated, reportedly because of her wish to be buried beside her father King George VI.
Her funeral took place at Slough crematorium in a stark contrast to the pomp-laden state funerals usually held for members of the Royal Family.
Margaret's decision to have an unconventional burial is understood to have come about because it was believed there was “no room” for a conventional burial, where her father was interred.
Ahead of her death, Margaret is reported to have told her friend Lady Glenconner, she did not want to end up at Frogmore in Windsor Great Park, where Queen Victoria and Prince Albert are buried.
Margaret is the only senior British royal in history to have been cremated and not buried or interred.
Who was Princess Margaret's husband Lord Snowdon?
On May 6, 1960, Princess Margaret married English photographer and film-maker Antony Armstrong-Jones at Westminster Abbey.
The ceremony was the first Royal Wedding to be broadcast on television, attracting viewers of 300 million worldwide.
The princess first met Armstrong-Jones at a dinner party in 1958 and by October 1959 they were engaged after "Tony" proposed with a ruby engagement ring displaying diamonds in the shape of a rosebud.
The Snowdon marriage marked the age of the Swinging Sixties.
Embracing the decade of parties and flamboyant lifestyle, the newlyweds established a social circle outside of aristocracy with the likes of The Beatles and actor Jack Nicholson.
The marriage of a "commoner" and a royal was also thought to represent the breaking down of British class barriers at the time.
In 1961 Armstrong-Jones was given the titles Earl of Snowdon and Viscount Linley.
3However, their marriage did not last and on March 19, 1976, the palace announced 'HRH The Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, and the Earl of Snowdon have mutually agreed to live apart'.
Two years later on May 10, 1978, it was decided they would officially divorce.
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