Some of my family have followed The Crown for a while, and like others on the Netflix thread here, came away sorely disappointed with the latest season. During a recent chat, one of them brought up an AH-worthy question, building on scenes apparently dealing with such a possibility in the series:
What if Princess Margaret had in fact become Queen?
Apart from the 1930s Abdication Crisis, I don't know much about the process by which the current monarch or next-in-line can step aside from their expected role, so I put the question about how that would work with Elizabeth (pre- or post-George VI's death) to anyone with a better grasp of the processes/politics involved. If Elizabeth dies early, before Charles and her other children are born (Back in the USSA had a passing mention of a similar scenario, with her dying of "London fog respiratory disease", albeit in 1968 when Charles is nearing adulthood), then Margaret would be sole heir; such an event happening thanks to the Great Smog of London, which The Crown also depicts, seems plausible on the surface.
What might a "Queen Margaret" monarchy be like, for her personally and in the greater British political/societal sense? Would Townsend and Armstrong-Jones still be in the picture, to name just two potential changes, and if so, how? If her father and sister both passed in 1952, how might that have affected the public/political perception of her, starting from her coronation? What might she encourage/support as Queen in terms of policies, attitudes and trends?
(Side note: I'm getting an idea for a story, or at least a scene, where she as Queen meets Thatcher as PM...with the title "The Two Maggies" )
Any thoughts?
What if Princess Margaret had in fact become Queen?
Apart from the 1930s Abdication Crisis, I don't know much about the process by which the current monarch or next-in-line can step aside from their expected role, so I put the question about how that would work with Elizabeth (pre- or post-George VI's death) to anyone with a better grasp of the processes/politics involved. If Elizabeth dies early, before Charles and her other children are born (Back in the USSA had a passing mention of a similar scenario, with her dying of "London fog respiratory disease", albeit in 1968 when Charles is nearing adulthood), then Margaret would be sole heir; such an event happening thanks to the Great Smog of London, which The Crown also depicts, seems plausible on the surface.
What might a "Queen Margaret" monarchy be like, for her personally and in the greater British political/societal sense? Would Townsend and Armstrong-Jones still be in the picture, to name just two potential changes, and if so, how? If her father and sister both passed in 1952, how might that have affected the public/political perception of her, starting from her coronation? What might she encourage/support as Queen in terms of policies, attitudes and trends?
(Side note: I'm getting an idea for a story, or at least a scene, where she as Queen meets Thatcher as PM...with the title "The Two Maggies" )
Any thoughts?