Inside the lives of Princess Margaret’s grandchildren: Royal heartthrob to glam socialite

As the Queen’s sister, Princess Margaret enjoyed all the wealth and privilege of a high-profile royal.

But she seemed to take a different view when it came to her family. As she once put it: ‘My children aren’t royal, they just happen to have the Queen as an aunt.’  

It seems her offspring, the Earl of Snowdon and Lady Sarah Chatto, adopted the same point of view because, today, their children – Margaret’s grandchildren – have relatively normal lives  away from royal responsibility. 

Including a Bohemian ceramicist, a Royal Marines heartthrob and glamorous jewellery designer Lady Margarita Armstrong-Jones, who turns 21 today, The Mail’s new Royals section takes a look at Princess Margaret’s free-spirited grandchildren.

Samuel Chatto

Princess Margaret’s eldest grandchild is bohemian Samuel Chatto, 26, son of Lady Sarah and Daniel Chatto. He has inherited the family’s artistic trait.

After Eton College and completing a degree in History of Art at Edinburgh University, Sam decided to leave behind a career win the art market to become a craftsman.

Explaining that he had put aside his creative ventures while studying, he later set up his own ceramics studio.

Speaking to the Daily Mail in 2019, he said: ‘I’m working in clay to create functional and sculptural wood-fired ceramics from my home and studio in West Sussex.

‘I’ve always had a strong affinity with creating objects, having spent much of my childhood crafting imagined landscapes and sculptural models, which naturally led me to clay during my later years at school.

‘My creative practice took a back seat while I studied History of Art at Edinburgh, but was revived, in the summer of 2017, by a visit to North Shore Pottery [in Caithness].

‘Inspired by what I had seen in Scotland, and completely uninspired by my three-month job in the commercial art market, I spent my weekends setting up a small home studio to rediscover my creativity and built a wood-fired kiln at the bottom of my garden.

‘The decision to start selling my work comes from a strong belief in the power of beautiful, well-made objects to enrich and enhance our lives.’

Sam had also explored other career options and previously trained as a yoga instructor in India with his then girlfriend, Sophie Pipe.

Devoting himself to ‘feeding his soul’ and following a vegan diet, he was previously in the habit of sharing motivational posts on Instagram, including a Valentine’s Day post which read: ‘Today I’ve been reminded that it’s you and this world that make my heart beat fast and make my blood run warm with love and peace and joy.’

In another spiritual Instagram post, he was pictured in the foothills of the Himalayas and at the ancient city of Petra in Jordan, where he donned a traditional Arabic keffiyah, stood next to a police officer and gushed: ‘My life is complete.’

After splitting up with Sophie, his first serious girlfriend who is now a gardener, during lockdown, he then partnered up with Eleanor Ekserdjian, another Edinburgh University alumnus and daughter of an arts professor.

An artist herself, she has collaborated on a project with Sam, who has also featured as the subject of some of her work, and the pair were snapped together at Tatler’s Little Black Book party in November last year.

Sam has also shared his close relationship with his younger brother Arthur on social media, posting a picture of the pair on the day of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding and writing: ‘I love you bro (and I’m not just saying that cos you’re so big you could squish me).’ 

Arthur Chatto

After attending Westminster Cathedral Choir School, Lady Sarah’s youngest child Arthur followed his brother to Eton and Edinburgh University. Today he serves with the Royal Marines.

Arthur’s first public exposure in royal life was as a Page of Honour for the late Queen, responsible for carrying her gown at ceremonial events including the Service for the Order of the British Empire in 2012.

But he has since attracted attention as a royal heartthrob, appearing in his Marines uniform for the Service of Thanksgiving for the Queen at St Paul’s Cathedral last year.

While studying at Edinburgh, Princess Margaret’s grandson also worked as a personal trainer at BoundFitness gym, specialising in ‘strength and endurance training with a military focus’.

In 2021, he become the first royal to join the Marines, reportedly venturing out on 20 mile hikes and camping in the Scottish Highlands in preparation for the training while visiting the Queen and family at Balmoral.

The Queen was said to be ‘pleased and proud’ that her great nephew was joining the Marines.

The royal was also part of a four-man squad who completed an epic row around the UK to raise money for The British Red Cross and Just One Ocean in 2020.

Speaking about the 2,000-mile GB Row Challenge, Arthur said that preparing for the challenge had been ‘mental’ and very physically demanding.

‘It was about an hour and a half rowing a day with a strength session, so an hour of squats or some back, and then we’d also throw in a two-hour session twice a week, as well as different cross fit style metabolic circuits,’ he explained in a video Q&A for BoundFitness gym.

At the end of the 38 day expedition, Arthur was greeted by his family and his girlfriend, Lizzie Friend – a fellow Edinburgh University student who he took as his date to Ascot in 2018.

‘They hit it off straight away,’ one source previously told the Daily Mail. ‘She’s really sweet and they make a very nice couple.’

The revelation left social media users devastated after he earned plenty of fans by sharing his training pictures on his Instagram account – which he has since deleted.

Far from the official photographs that we are used to seeing from royals, Arthur had no problem sharing revealing snaps, including one topless photo taken during a ‘Scottish swim’ alongside older brother Samuel during his university Freshers week.

Charles Armstrong-Jones, Viscount Linley

Charles is the eldest child of Princess Margaret’s son David Armstrong-Jones and his ex-wife, Serena.

After the death of his grandfather, Margaret’s husband Antony Armstrong-Jones, the 1st Earl of Snowdon, Charles’ father inherited the title, becoming the 2nd Earl of Snowdon.

Charles, in turn, became Viscount Linley.

Charles had served as a Page of Honour to the Queen, being appointed the first Page of Honour in 2012.

Unlike his younger sister, Charles did not play a part in Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding, and speaking of his appointment as a Page of Honour, one courtier told The Telegraph: ‘Charles never made a fuss about not being made a pageboy, but the Queen was keen to ensure that he did not feel left out.’

Born in 1999, Charles was in the same year as his cousin Arthur Chatto at Eton College before studying design engineering at Loughborough University but remains largely out of the headlines.

He now works as a musician and his sister Margarita told Tatler: ‘He is very into his orchestral music. He is self-taught [and he] can sing, play the piano and the guitar.’ 

His parents David and Serena announced that they would be getting divorced in 2020 with a spokesman saying the pair had: ‘amicably agreed that their marriage has come to an end’.

Lord Snowdon, a furniture designer, moved into Kensington Palace with his then wife and his son Charles in 2000 to look after Princess Margaret before she died in 2002.

Lady Margarita Armstrong-Jones

Princess Margaret’s youngest grandchild and only granddaughter, Lady Margarita, recently appeared on the front cover of Tatler for her 21st birthday.

But this was not her first time in the spotlight as she had served as a bridesmaid at the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton in 2011, aged eight.

After finishing prep school, Margarita started at boarding school St Mary’s Ascot but left for Tudor Hall to study A Levels in photography, history of art and jewellery design.

She studied at Oxford Brookes, swapping between courses in photography and events management, before moving to Paris where she lives with her two flatmates and studies jewellery and photography.

As well as studying at the Haute École de Joaillerie, she spends time with her friends and can be spotted at Parisian second-hand shops.

She told Tatler: ‘I love fashion. I have always had an interest in it and I love experimenting with styles.’

Her stylish streak was on full display when Lady Margarita made a glamorous appearance at at Tatler’s Little Black Book party in London last year.

She paid an uncanny tribute to her grandmother, turning up to The Windmill cocktail bar in Soho in a silver sequin mini dress and stunning white faux fur coat.

The bespoke Michael Kors creation seems to have been based on a piece of outwear worn by Princess Margaret to the premiere of Captain Horatio Hornblower in 1951 when she wore a V-neck, long-sleeved dress embellished with pink sequins under a fur coat.

Her full name, Margarita Elizabeth Rose Alleyne Armstrong-Jones is also a tribute to Princess Margaret, as well as the Queen Mother, although Margarita never met either of them.