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Princess Margaret's former husband Lord Snowdon dies aged 86

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Ainhoa Barcelona
Content Managing Editor
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Lord Snowdon, Princess Margaret's former husband, has passed away aged 86. The photographic agency he worked with, Camera Press, revealed that the photographer died peacefully at home.

Buckingham Palace said the Queen had been informed.

Lord Snowdon, who was born Antony Charles Robert Armstrong-Jones, was married to the Queen's sister Princess Margaret from 1960 to 1978. Upon his marriage he was given the title, Earl of Snowdon.

snowdon 1© Photo: Getty Images

Lord Snowdon and Princess Margaret married in 1960

The couple shared two children together – David Linley and Lady Sarah Chatto.

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Lord Snowdon's passion for photography began at Eton, where he studied, and blossomed further at Cambridge University. He failed his final exams at the prestigious university, and at the age of 21 moved to London to set up his own studio.

In 1956 he was commissioned to take the 21st birthday photographs of the Duke of Kent. He was later invited to Buckingham Palace to take official portraits of the royal family, including Princess Margaret.

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The couple had two children together

The couple's engagement was announced in 1960, with the wedding taking place in May. Lord Snowdon and the Princess honeymooned in the Caribbean, after which they settled at Kensington Palace.

After the breakdown of their marriage, Lord Snowdon went on to marry Lucy Mary Lindsay-Hogg. The couple had one child together, a daughter, Lady Frances Armstrong-Jones.

They separated in 2000 after the revelation that Lord Snowdon had also fathered a son, Jasper William Oliver Cable-Alexander, with Country Life editor Melanie Cable-Alexander. Lord Snowdon also fathered another daughter, Polly Fry, shortly before marrying Princess Margaret.