their house sheltered adulterous loves…

From this summer, Kate Middleton, Prince William and their three children, George, Charlotte and Louis, will move from Kensington Palace, London, where they currently live, to Windsor. The Cambridges specifically decided to unpack their bags at Cottage Adelaide, located a few minutes from the castle where Elizabeth lives. They actually hope to get closer to the Queen who, in addition to her advanced age, sees her state of health weaken day by day. Used by friends of the visiting royal family for almost sixty years, the house, which the Queen has owned since 1941, was then given as a wedding gift to Meghan Markle and Prince Harry in 2018. But long before that, the Adelaide Cottage hosted the sulphurous affair of Princess Margaret, the younger sister of Elizabeth II, with a certain Peter Townsend.

As reported Paris Match in July 2018, Captain Peter Townsenda former Royal Air Force fighter pilot who became squire to George VI, installed in this Windsor home in 1944. A few years later, Margaret and Peter Townsend, fifteen years her senior, fell in love with each other. While the squire is married, the two lovers have started a secret and sulphurous affair. Forced to hide to live their idyll, they would therefore have regularly found themselves at Cottage Adelaide.

Princess Margaret and Peter Townsend: a doomed relationship

Peter Townsend, who eventually divorced his wife in 1952, asked for Margaret’s hand the same year. But their union could not be accepted by Elizabeth II, who had just ascended the throne. And for good reason, at the time, the protocol prevented members of the royal family from marrying a divorced person. After a few more years of love without being able to seal their union, the princess and the squire have seen their relationship erode over time. Finally, in October 1955, Princess Margaret has announced the breakdown of her engagement to Peter Townsend.