Royal expert Ingrid Seward wrote that the Queen's younger sister, Princess Margaret, was ' wilful, contrary and an impossible mixture of tenderness, arrogance and self-entitlement'.
Their romance had all the trappings of a classic tale of forbidden love. He was the tall, handsome and fearless RAF war hero. She was the young, glamorous princess adored all over the world.
To her partner - and co-owner of their restaurant The Yellow Bittern - she's simply Frances, but to those familiar with the Windsor family tree, she's Lady Frances von Hofmannsthal.
They stood triumphant on the Buckingham Palace balcony, victors in the long battle that had decimated Europe. The King and Queen, together with Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret
At home, Carole Middleton is the epitome of the unflappable grandmother. But some 4,000 miles, 'Ma Middleton' something becomes quite different altogether.
Queen Elizabeth and Princess Margaret shared a deep and unbreakable bond throughout their lives, standing by each other through both good and bad times.