ANTONY Armstrong-Jones defied the strict protocols of the Royal Family with a string of saucy scandals.
Here’s everything we know about the Earl’s children.
Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones, the Earl of Snowdon, with their baby daughter Lady Sarah Armstrong-Jones.[/caption]
Who are Antony Armstrong-Jones’s children?
Antony Charles Robert Armstrong-Jones was described as the ‘first royal rebel‘.
His lifestyle went against the norms of royalty, marked by public outrages involving sex, drugs and alcohol.
He became the first Earl of Snowdon when he married the late Princess Margaret on May 6, 1960.
The earl passed away in January 2017 at the age of 86.
Below we take a look at the lives of his five children.
Polly Fry
Polly Fry, born on May 28, 1960, was Antony’s first-born child.
It was initially believed that she was the daughter of Jeremy Fry, since her mother, Camilla Fry, was married to him at the time.
Jeremy was a close friend of Antony’s, but the Earl had an affair with Camilla while engaged to Princess Margaret, and she became pregnant.
Polly was raised to believe that Jeremy was her father, and the truth was kept secret for 45 years.
In 2004, she decided to take a DNA test following years of rumours and uncertainty.
Polly finally found out the truth after asking for DNA from Antony.
Polly — who’s now a writer and interior designer — published a letter in the Daily Mail in 2008 telling her side of the story about discovering the true identity of her biological father.
She said: “Finding out at age 45 that the man I had idolised and put on a pedestal higher than Nelson’s Column since I was a small child was not in fact my father was a hard burden to bear.”
The Daily Mail reported Polly attended her father’s funeral in January 2019, although he left her nothing in his will.
David Armstrong-Jones — 2nd Earl of Snowdon
David Armstrong-Jones is the firstborn child of Princess Margaret and Antony.
He was born on November 3, 1961, in Clarence House.
David was, at the time of his birth, fifth in line to the throne.
But now he stands at 25th in the line of succession and is the first not a descendent Queen Elizabeth II.
David became the second Earl of Snowdon following his father’s death in 2017, before which he was known as Viscount Linley.
He is a furniture maker and was previously the chairman of the top auction house Christie’s UK.
He was married to Serena Armstrong-Jones, whose father is Viscount Petersham.
Finding out at age 45 that the man I had idolised and put on a pedestal higher than Nelson’s Column since I was a small child was not in fact my father was a hard burden to bear
Polly Fry
They met after Serena’s father, the Viscount, hired David to design furniture.
Subsequently they started dating, before announcing their engagement in May 1993.
Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Diana were in attendance at the wedding, which was held in October 1993, with a total of 650 guests in attendance.
The pair announced their parting ways in 2020, as a spokesperson for the Earl said: “The Earl and Countess of Snowdon have amicably agreed that their marriage has come to an end and that they shall be divorced.
“They ask that the press respect their privacy and that of their family.”
Together they had two children: musician Charles Armstrong-Jones born on July 1, 1999, and socialite jewellery designer Lady Margarita Armstrong-Jones, born on May 14, 2002.
Lady Sarah Chatto
Lady Sarah Chatto is one of Prince Harry’s godparents[/caption]
Lady Sarah Chatto, the second child of Princess Margaret and Antony, was born on May 1, 1964.
She prefers to live a life out of the royal spotlight with her husband Daniel Chatto, who she’s been married to since July 14, 1994.
Both Lady Sarah and her husband are artists.
She received an A level in Art before going on to study at the Camberwell School of Art and Royal Academy School.
Her husband, who she met during a sabbatical in India, is a British artist and former actor.
Lady Sarah went to India with her father Antony to photograph the production of A Passage To India (1984).
She has had several exhibitions of her art, and is also the vice president of The Royal Ballet.
Lady Sarah and David have two sons together.
Their firstborn, Samuel David Benedict Chatto, who works as a potter, was born on July 28, 1996.
Arthur Robert Nathaniel Chatto, the couple’s second child, is a royal marine who was born on February 5, 1999.
Lady Sarah is also one of Prince Harry’s six godparents chosen by King Charles III—who was still known as Prince Charles at the time—and Princess Diana.
Lady Frances von Hofmannsthal
Lady Frances launched her fashion label in 2016[/caption]
Six months on from his 1978 divorce from Princess Margaret, who had an affair with Roddy Llewellyn, Antony married Lucy Lindsay-Hogg.
The couple divorced in 2000, but while married had a daughter named Frances.
Born on July 17, 1979, Lady Frances shares her father’s love of the arts.
She had a good relationship with her father, and when she launched her fashion label designed coats inspired by the backdrop from her father’s studio in Kensington.
In the same studio Antony photographed the Queen, David Bowie and Audrey Hepburn among other famous faces.
In 2016, she launched her eponymous fashion label, Frances, and began by selling smock coats in three sizes.
In an 2016 interview with the Evening Standard, she described how her father is one of her artistic inspirations.
She said: “I was always brought down after the sitting and he would introduce me to the subject, ask what I thought of the lighting.
“It was magical.”
Lady Frances is married to Austrian aristocrat Rodolphe von Hofmannsthal.
The couple has three children together.
Jasper Cable-Alexander
Towards the end of his marriage with Lucy, Antony had an affair with Melanie Cable-Alexander.
On April 30, 1998, his fifth and final child was born — a boy named Jasper.
At the time his mother was a journalist for Country Life and had to appeal for child support from Antony.
Antony left Jasper £250,00 in his will, but he was largely raised by his mother Melanie.
Jasper has attracted media attention in the past because of the strong resemblance her shares with his father.
Following in his father’s footsteps, he has also enjoyed great success in his career as a photographer and film director.
Royal Family roles explained
- Who is and who isn’t prince or princess in the British Royal Family?
- What is a royal patronage?
- What is a baroness?
- What is an OBE and what does it stand for?
- What is the Order of the Garter?
- Who are the working royals in the British Royal Family?