This Day in History | 1960 Margaret weds Armstrong-Jones

Princess Margaret and Anthony Armstrong Jones have married at Westminster Abbey.
More than 20 million viewers tuned in to watch the first ever televised royal wedding service.
Thousands, including many international and commonwealth visitors, lined the streets of central London to witness the Queen’s younger sister get married.
Princess Margaret, 29, arrived on time for the 1130BST ceremony, after making the journey from Clarence House in the Glass Coach with the Duke of Edinburgh.
Inside the church, 2000 guests watched the Princess, dressed in white silk and a diamond tiara, make her procession up the blue carpeted aisle.
She was followed by her eight bridesmaids, with the Queen’s eldest daughter, Princess Anne taking the lead.
As well as the families of the bride and groom, foreign royalty, including the King and Queen of Sweden attended the ceremony.
A CCTV system enabled wedding guests in all parts of the abbey to see the main ceremony in the sanctuary, while a loud speaker system relayed the service to the crowd outside.
The Duke of Edinburgh escorted the Princess to the altar where she was met by the groom and his best man Dr Roger Gilliat.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Geoffrey Fisher, then led a traditional Church of England service, in which Margaret promised to obey her husband.
After they had signed the register, the royal party travelled to Buckingham Palace, cheered on by ecstatic onlookers.
Soon after their arrival at Buckingham Palace, the couple accompanied by the rest of the royal family appeared on the balcony and waved to the delighted crowd.
After retiring from the public’s gaze, Princess Margaret and her husband enjoyed wedding toasts and a wedding breakfast with 120 guests.
The newly weds then made their way to the Battle Bridge Pier on the Thames, to board the Royal Yatch Britannia for their honeymoon in the Carribean.
They arrived later than scheduled as crowds of well wishers slowed down their car.

Courtesy BBC News

In context

Before her marriage, Margaret had been engaged to Captain Peter Townsend, a divorced man with two children. She called off the engagement in 1955 after the Church of England and the political establishment voiced disapproval of her marrying a divorced man.
The princess met Armstrong-Jones at a dinner party in Chelsea in 1958 and they became engaged a year later.
Mr Armstrong-Jones was made Earl Snowdon on his wedding day. Despite this, some critics disapproved of a commoner marrying into the royal family.
The couple had two children, Viscount Linley in 1961, and Lady Sarah Chatto in 1964.
In 1978, Princess Margaret became the first royal since Henry VIII to divorce.
By then rumours had emerged that the Princess was having an affair with Roddy Llewellyn who was 17 years her junior. The relationship lasted for eight years but eventually Roddy married a younger woman.
Margaret suffered from ill health throughout her life. She died in February 2002 after suffering a number of strokes and cardiac problems.