Toffs are different
Snowdon and Margaret: Inside a Royal Marriage (Channel 4)
When Anne divorced Tony’s father and remarried an Irish lord with a splendid castle, for example, she relegated her first-born to third-class status. Quite literally. On train journeys, young Tony would have to travel third class, while the spoilt baby son-and-heir from the new marriage travelled in a special linen tent first class. And when aged 16 Tony contracted polio, his mother never once visited him during the six months he spent in Liverpool Infirmary. What kind of witch do you have to be to behave like that?
But in toff world, this sort of thing is normal. Whereas about the worst I can say about my bourgeois upbringing is that my mother let my brother and me watch The Deer Hunter too many times, which means that we now see our whole lives through the prism of being trapped in a rat-infested cage where the only way out is to play Russian roulette. Oh, and there was a time when my father deliberately trapped my arm for fun in the Jensen’s electric window and drove slowly down the drive with me having to run alongside. I think that’s quite funny, though. I’d definitely do the same to my kids.
Princess Margaret, of course, had it even worse than Tony. Friends who know the royal family say their big problem is that they can never ever let go. They always stand around like they’ve got pokers stuck up their bottoms, which means you have to in their presence, too.
One of Princess Margaret’s more irritating tricks, the documentary reminded us, was inviting all her groovy new showbiz friends — the Burton/Taylors, Peter Sellers, etc. — to dinner and watching like a hawk for the moment when they became too relaxed and overfamiliar. The moment they did her blue eyes would frost into an evil death stare, and they’d be instantly, painfully reminded that this wasn’t a mate, this was the Queen’s sister.
More articles from: James Delingpole | this section
Post this entry to: del.icio.us | Digg | Newsvine | NowPublic | Reddit
Advertisement
Community living
Kate ChisholmKate Chisholm reviews recents radio broadcasts
Recent loves
Marcus BerkmannMarcus Berkmann presents his records of 2008
Question time
Deborah RossSlumdog Millionaire
15, Nationwide
Crowd pleaser
Michael TannerCecilia Bartoli
Barbican
Turandot
Royal Opera House
Shakespeare it ain’t
Lloyd EvansThe Cordelia Dream
Wilton’s Music Hall
Sunset Boulevard
Comedy
Quality treat
Simon HoggartThe Diary of Anne Frank (BBC1, Monday to Friday); Oz and James Drink to Britain (BBC2, Tuesday)
Good intentions
James DelingpoleIf you don’t mind — yeah, like you’ve any choice in the matter — what I thought I’d do for this New Year column is to do just enough TV for the editor not to want to sack me, then move swiftly on to the stuff my hardcore fans prefer, namely the rambling and shameless solipsism.
The wrong question
Deborah RossThe Reader
15, Nationwide (2 January)
Beware the Witch
Michael TannerHänsel und Gretel
Royal Opera House
Mörder, Hoffnung der Frauen
Ardente Opera
A dog’s life
Deborah RossDean Spanley
U, Nationwide
Latest blog posts
sponsored links
Sky - Official Site
Build your own Sky package online. Sky TV, Broadband & Talk only £17.
ROME CENTRE
PORTA METRONIA, ROME Standing high on the top of one of the seven hills of Rome- the Coelian- this unique
City Breaks. ROME and PARIS
ROME and PARIS: over 350 holiday rentals apartments listed: visit www.romanreference.com and www.parisreference.com or call +39 0648 903612.
Jewellery. RUFFS (Estd. 1904).
Goldsmiths by Design Welcome to Ruffs! You have found a company of Goldsmiths that specialises in the manufacture, amongst other
Spectator Business | Apollo Magazine
Corporate | Advertising | Privacy | Terms
Spectator, 22 Old Queen Street, London, SW1H 9HP
All Articles and Content Copyright ©2008 by The Spectator | All Rights Reserved
Barbara M.G. Ilott
June 27th, 2008 5:47pmWhat really annoys me about Anthony Armstrong-Jones is that he is still "Lord Snowdon". He was created the Earl of Snowdon at the time of his marriage to Princess Margaret; he should have been compelled to relinquish the title when he was divorced, and his second wife should most certainly not have been permitted to style herself "Countess". I am not being class-conscious here: I also believe that any person who is accorded a rank, title or name as a legal consquence of marriage should be obliged to lose that rank &c between nisi and absolute. It is hypocritical for a woman (for instance) to continue to use her ex-husband's surname and the style "Mrs" once the marriage has been legally terminated. S/he should revert to the legal name s/he had before the marriage which has been ended, was contracted. In any of these cases it makes a mockery of the reality and finality of divorce. Those who claim that it is not "appropriate" for children to have a different surname from their mother do not seem to suffer from qualms when a widow remarries!