Princess Margaret’s country retreat hits the market

A sprawling estate once home to the late British royal Princess Margaret and her society-photographer husband, Antony Armstrong-Jones, is looking for a new owner.

The centuries-old country house in the English village of Staplefield, West Sussex, was once home to lavish society parties and the eventual breakdown of the royal couple’s marriage.

However, the current owner of the seven-bedroom residence says life there was never quite as glamorous as it appeared.

“Princess Margaret was very ‘royal’ and loved the pomp and ceremony of living at Kensington Palace rather than the understated charm of the Old House,” Amanda Walsh told The Wall Street Journal.

Margaret, the younger sister of the late Queen Elizabeth II, and Armstrong-Jones, later the 1st Earl of Snowdon, married at Westminster Abbey in 1960.

The residence had been gifted to the late Lord Snowdon by his uncle, renowned designer Oliver Messel, to mark the relationship.

Margaret and Snowdon’s union was a turbulent one from the start, plagued by rumours of adultery, drugs and alcohol. Both engaged in extramarital affairs that would ultimately result in the first divorce by a senior British royal in nearly 80 years.

The marriage ended after Margaret embarked on a relationship with landscape gardener Roddy Llewellyn.

Snowdon also had an affair with Country Life magazine editor Melanie Cable-Alexander, who later gave birth to his youngest child, Jasper Cable-Alexander.

The royal couple reportedly disagreed over where their customary country retreat should be, with Margaret favouring a new residence closer to Windsor Castle while Snowdon instead devoted himself to restoring Old House.

“Snowdon’s passion for the house can be felt throughout, his artistic influence is vital to the DNA of the house remains vital today,” the listing with Blue Book Agency reads.

“But it was the succeeding generation of owners who transformed the house from a charming yet rudimentary dwelling into a supremely comfortable and modern home, whilst carefully retaining many of its original features.”

The house was once part of the nearby Nymans estate, purchased by wealthy businessman Ludwig Messel before eventually being passed through the family to Oliver Messel.

While its earliest origins date back to the late 15th century, the property has been extensively updated over the years, mixing Tudor and Georgian architecture with modern needs.

Set across 5.5 acres, the estate includes a heated swimming pool and pool house, Lord Snowdon’s former photographic dark room, a garden office, a folly built from a salvaged balcony from Ascot Racecourse’s Royal Box and landscaped gardens leading to a lake said to have been dug by the royal himself.

According to the listing, the secluded retreat also hosted an impressive guest list over the years, with visitors including actor Peter Sellers, ballerina Dame Margot Fonteyn, financier Sir Evelyn de Rothschild, actor Sir John Mills, fashion designer Issey Miyake and socialite Bianca Jagger.

“It was a mad place, but it was a very happy one,” Lord Snowdon confessed in a 2001 interview with Hello! Magazine.

When he split from Princess Margaret, he moved out of Kensington Palace and into the Old House before deciding to sell in 2003 due to high maintenance costs and the long journey to and from London.

He died at age 86 in 2017. Princess Margaret died at age 71 in 2002.

The house was sold to a couple before Walsh and her late husband Brian Stewart bought Old House in 2005.

The property is on the market with a £3.95 million ($7.63 million) price tag.