The Crown Season 3: Why is Princess Margaret hogging all limelight?

Season 3 of The Crown rakes up the controversial visit to Princess Margaret to the United States in 1965

Queen Elizabeth says Brexit deal is governments top priority in speech to parliament
Queen Elizabeth

The Season 3 of 'The Crown' is finally here. After keeping its fans waiting for almost two years, Netflix aired the 10-part Season 3 on Sunday, November 17. The highly acclaimed series revolving around the life and scandals of the British royals, has an entire new cast with Olivia Colman leading the pack as Queen Elizabeth II.

Portraying the challenges faced by the Monarchs on the political and personal front in the late 60s, the third season features Tobias Menzies (Prince Philip), Josh O'Connor (Prince Charles), Emerald Fennell (Camilla Parker Bowles), Marion Bailey (Queen Mother), Helena Bonham Carter (Princess Margaret), Ben Daniels (Tony Armstrong-Jones), Gillian Anderson (Margaret Thatcher), Jason Watkins (Harold Wilson) and Erin Doherty (Princess Anne).

Apart from depicting the progressing public and political changes in Great Britain along with the love and duty-related challenges being faced by Prince Charles and Princess Anne, the series takes you back to the life Princess Margaret, the Countess of Snowdon and the only sibling of the Queen. Known as 'Party Princess, Princess Margaret was always controversy's favourite child.

Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon
Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, played by Helena Bonham Carter in Season 3 of The Crown, an award-winning series on Netflix This is an image from the Nationaal Archief, the Dutch National Archives, donated in the context of a partnership program.

'Margaretology', the second episode of the season, depicts the late Princess's tour of the United States in 1965. It shows how Princess Margaret was sent to the White House dinner to convince the then US President Lyndon B. Johnson of bailing out Great Britain from the financial crunch. A far cry from the usually formal dinner parties, the event is shown as a swinging party in which the princess mocks the former President John F. Kennedy, who was assassinated two years ago. She says: "I met him ( President John F. Kennedy) once. I was left distinctly underwhelmed."

Following the dinner, a drinking contest is held in which a highly charged Margaret shouts, "Last man standing is the winner." It is then followed by a dirty 'limerick contest', which sees the participation of Johnson, Margaret and her husband Tony Armstrong-Jones.

Referred to as the 'Dazzling Windsor' by Prince Philip in season 3, Princess Margaret's eight-year affair with baronet and gardening expert Roddy Llewellyn that leads to the Princess's divorce from Antony Armstrong-Jones in 1978 is also shown in the series.

During her interview with a magazine, Carter revealed one of her uncles was "actually very close" to the Queen's younger sister. Carter goes on to claim that she contacted Princess Margaret through a psychic medium to seek her blessings for the role.

"She said, apparently, she was glad it was me," Bonham Carter said at the Cheltenham literature festival. "So I asked her: 'Are you okay with me playing you?' and she said: 'You're better than the other actress'

Whether we will see more of Princess Margaret in Season 4 is up to the makers of the show, but one thing is sure that without her, the show would not be as colourful as it is now.