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Lord Snowdon, the former husband of Princess Margaret, has died aged 86.
Buckingham Palace said the Queen had been informed, but did not comment further.
Born Anthony Armstrong-Jones, the society photographer captured many of the most famous faces of the 20th century – including subjects as varied as Diana, Princess of Wales, David Bowie, Germaine Greer and Elizabeth Taylor.
Many of the photographers stunning portraits have been exhibited at London’s National Portrait Gallery.
The photographic agency he worked with, Camera Press, released a short statement after his death.
The statement read, “The Earl of Snowdon died peacefully at home on 13th January 2017.”
Despite his photographic career which spanned over six decades, Lord Snowdon is perhaps most well-known for his marriage to the Queen’s sister, Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon.
Upon his marriage he was given the title, Earl of Snowdon.
Marking the first real union between a king’s daughter and a commoner for 450 years, the pair married in 1960 before ending in divorce 18 years later.
Before marrying Snowdon in 1960, Margaret had a highly-publicised relationship with Capt. Peter Townsend which is featured on the hit Netflix series, The Crown.
Lord Snowdon was the first real commoner to marry a king’s daughter in 450 years.
Dubbed the “first royal rebel” for his rather un-royal life and conduct, Lord Snowdon lived a Bohemian lifestyle. He was known to ride a motorbike, had divorced parents, was born without a title and frequently made headlines for lurid tales of drug-and-alcohol-fuelled extra-marital affairs.
Speaking of his complex personal life, his biographer, Anne de Courcy, wrote that the Eton-educated photographer was primarily motivated by “work and sex” and that “his world was one in which both long relationships and casual encounters co-existed.”
But throughout it all Lord Snowdon remained close to the monarchy. He remains the only photographer to have had sittings with 90-year-old Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s longest running monarch.
He and Princess Margaret, who sadly passed away in February 2002 aged 71, shared two children together, Viscount Linley and Lady Sarah Chatto.
Lord Snowdon and Princess Margaret with their son, Linley, shortly after the birth of daughter, Sarah.
Lord Snowdon also had a daughter, Lady Frances Armstrong-Jones, with second wife, Lucy Lindsay-Hogg, from whom he split in 2000 as well as a son, Jasper, with the journalist Melanie Cable-Alexander.
Our thoughts are with Lord Snowdon’s children and the entire British Royal Family during this difficult time.
