A new royal book has made a bombshell claim about Princess Margaret’s health. The late Queen Elizabeth’s sister was known to have suffered from various health problems in her later years, which were likely caused by her lifestyle choices, which included heavy smoking and drinking.
But according to an award-winning author, the princess was allegedly also suffering from a condition brought on by the Queen Mother. Meryle Secrest, a Pulitzer Prize-nominated biographer, claims in her new unofficial biography, Princess Margaret and the Curse, that the late royal suffered from foetal alcohol syndrome.
The Telegraph reported that the syndrome is caused by a developing baby’s exposure to alcohol in the womb, and can give the child distinctive facial features and cause difficulties with learning, impulse control, and managing emotions.
Ms Secrest claims that despite Margaret lacking the syndrome’s distinct signs of a smooth lip philtrum and small eyes, she did display its characteristic mood swings, stunted growth, difficulties learning how to write, and painful migraines. Margaret died on February 9, 2002, aged 71, after suffering her fourth stroke the previous day.
The author claimed in her book that the princess was suffering from an “invisible disability”, brought on by foetal alcohol syndrome, which was caused by the Queen Mother’s drinking habits during her pregnancy with her.
The book cites a former equerry who said Margaret and Elizabeth’s mother would be drinking heavily throughout the day. Her routine allegedly included gin and Dubonnet: two parts pink vermouth to one part gin, as well as wine and port, until the 6pm’s “magic hour” when martinis would be prepared.
According to the book, the young Queen Mother would have likely not been advised against alcohol consumption during her pregnancy with Margaret, as foetal alcohol syndrome was not well understood until the 1970s.
But it also claims that the matriarch may have drunk less when pregnant with Queen Elizabeth, as, according to letters from that time, she could not bear the thought of wine.
A 1925 letter to the future King George VI said: “The sight of wine simply turns me up! Isn’t it extraordinary! It will be a tragedy if I never recover my drinking powers.” The book does not suggest whatsoever that the late Queen Elizabeth suffered from any condition.
The 95-year-old author compared Margaret’s life to other typical cases of the syndrome and explained how children suffering from it may usually misbehave and have difficulty regulating their behaviour and emotions
She writes in the book that nurses found Margaret to be “naughty, mischievous and provocative”. She also claims the royal was impulsive and would “blurt out the truth,” another typical symptom of foetal alcohol syndrome.
The book alleges that Margaret had a poor awareness of physical danger and that sufferers of foetal alcohol syndrome often have stunted growth and Margaret was recorded as being 5ft 1in.
Ms Secrest referenced the work of Dr Kenneth Jones, a leading expert who first properly identified the issue in 1973.
The Telegraph states: “There is no firm evidence that Margaret suffered from an alcohol-related neurodevelopmental disorder, and the new biography has been written by comparing Margaret’s life, as attested in pre-existing written sources, with those who have suffered from the condition.”
Princess Margaret and the Curse: An Inquiry into a Royal Life will be released on September 9.