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March 19
Lord Snowdon and Princess Margaret with their children in 1973
1976: Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon to split
England have
Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon are to separate after 16 years of
marriage, it has been announced by Buckingham Palace.
After weeks of speculation a 39-word statement was issued by the Palace
today.
It said: "HRH The Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, and the Earl of
Snowdon have mutually agreed to live apart.
"The Princess will carry out her public duties and functions unaccompanied
by Lord Snowdon. There are no plans for divorce proceedings."
"Desperately sad"
Earl Snowdon, who is currently in Australia to open a photographic
exhibition of his work, said he was "desperately sad".
It is understood he knew nothing of the announcement prior to its
release.
He appealed for understanding for his two children, 14-year-old Viscount
David Linley and 11-year-old Lady Sarah Armstrong-Jones.
Princess Margaret"s spokesperson, John Griffin, said: "A separation has
been a possibility for some time and once the final decision had been reached it
was obviously best to implement it straight away.
"A separation was the best course to take in all the circumstances bearing
in mind in particular the interests of the two children."
Princess Margaret, who becomes the first member of the Royal family to
divorce since Henry VIII, married Antony Charles Robert Armstrong-Jones on 5 May
1960.
Just five years earlier she had called off plans to marry divorcee Group
Captain Peter Townsend with whom she had been linked for several years.
Her acquaintance with 29-year-old Roddy Llewellyn, son of Olympic gold
medallist horseman, Lt-Col Harry Llewellyn, has fuelled rumours about her
marriage.
Last month the couple spent time on the Caribbean island of Mustique, where
the Princess has taken several extended holidays without her husband since their
marriage.
The Queen is said to be very sad but has had no influence in the
decision.
It is understood the 45-year-old Princess, who is fifth in line to throne,
will continue to take ?5,000 a year from the Civil List and will continue with
her public duties.
Lord Snowdon, 46, will be required to find alternative accommodation. He
has never received funds from the Civil List.
In a statement the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Donal Doggan, who is in the
West Indies said: "One hopes that every understanding will be shown to the Royal
Family at this time of distress."
The Argentinian group has been asked to leave South Georgia immediately
1982: Argentine flag hoisted on Falklands
Artificially 1969:
The A group of Argentines have landed at the British colony of the Falkland
Islands in the south Atlantic and planted their nation"s flag.
About 50 Argentines are reported to have arrived at Leith Harbour, on South
Georgia, about 1,400 miles east of the Falklands archipelago off the Argentine
coast.
South Georgia is a dependency of the disputed Falklands Islands which
Britain claimed in 1833.
The British Antarctic survey team at Grytviken, on South Georgia, reported
their arrival today.
Provocative step
They are understood to have a commercial contract to remove scrap metal at
Leith Harbour but there are reports they arrived aboard a ship chartered by the
Argentine Government.
The group has been asked to leave immediately and seek British permission
to work on the island.
There is no indication of what the group"s motivation is or whether it has
hostile intentions.
The Foreign Office has not commented on the incident and it is not known if
Britain will dispatch the Royal Navy"s patrol ship HMS Endurance, which is in
the Falklands area, where about 40 marines are stationed at any one time.
Today"s events are seen as a provocative step in the on-going dispute
between Britain and Argentina over the sovereignty of the islands.
Argentina calls the Falkland Islands the Islas Malvinas and it has claimed
sovereignty over it ever since the end of Spanish rule.
Last month, talks in New York between the two countries broke down after
Argentina declared it would break off negotiations with London to seek other
means of solving the dispute more speedily.
But Britain maintains the Falkland Islands, made up of two main islands and
nearly 300 smaller ones, will not be handed to Argentina without the approval of
the islanders and British Parliament.
Vocabulary:
provocative : Tending to provoke(挑衅的;煽动的) |
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发表于 2016-7-9 23:20:53