Princess Margaret of England in Angkor, November 1969

The last stately (and glamorous) visit to Angkor before the March 1970 anti-royalist coup that hastened Cambodia's political and social implosion.

Published: November 20th, 1969

Language : English

The British television film documented the visit of Princess Margaret of Great Britain and then-husband Lord Snowdon in Camdodia from 30 September until 4 October 1969, focusing on their touring of Angkor Wat and Bayon before returning to Phnom Penh and the farewell gala dinner.

“The Khmer temples were built around the time when the Normands conquered England”, noted the voice-over comment in typical British fashion. Head of State Prince Norodom Sihanouk and spouse Princess Norodom Monineath accompanied the British royals, while Bernard-Philippe Groslier, the last Conservateur en chef d’Angkor, provided scientific and historic background. The future Queen Mother and “mother of the Khmer nation” had married Norodom Sihanouk in 1955 as the “secondary consort” — the same year that the “King Father” had also married his official wife, Norodom Thavet Norleak — and had become the official spouse of the Cambodian later only one year before the visit, after Sihanouk and Norleak divorced in 1968.

This was the last prestigious visit to Cambodia and stately reception before March 1970 Lon Nol’s coup, with only Niger President Hamani Diori’s visit (3−5 November 1969) mentioned after Princess Margaret’s in the voluminous កម្ពុជា Cambodge, សង្គមរាស្ត្រនិយម Sangkat Reastr Niyum: កិត្យានុភាពនៃកម្ពុជានៅលើ ឆាកអន្តរជាតិ Le prestige au plan international du Cambodge 1955 – 1969 ១៩៥៥-១៩៦៩ .See the corresponding photos in the chapter “ទស្សនកិច្ច នៃព្រះអង្គម្ចាស់ក្សត្រី ម៉ាហ្គារេត និងភួងត៍ ស្លូវដន នៅប្រទេសកម្ពុជា” “Visit of Princess Margaret and Earl Snowdon to Cambodia” (p 404 – 440).

Princess Margaret, Lord Snowdon, Prince Sihanouk, Princess Monique-Monineath and Bernard-Philippe Groslier at Angkor Wat and the Bayon, Nov. 1969 [screenshots from the film].

Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon (21 August 1930 – 9 February 2002) was the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, the Duke and Duchess of York. She was the younger sister and only sibling of Queen Elizabeth II. She married on 6 May 1960 Antony Charles Robert Armstrong-Jones, 1^st Earl of Snowdon (7 March 1930 – 13 January 2017), a British photographer and filmmaker known internationally for his portraits of the rich and famous published in Vogue, Vanity Fair, The Sunday Times Magazine, The Sunday Telegraph Magazine, etc. Some 280 of his photographs are in the permanent collections of the National Portrait Gallery.

The couple had two children, David and Sarah. Margaret’s marriage to Lord Snowdon became strained, with both of them engaging in extramarital affairs. They separated in 1976 and divorced on 11 July 1978. Margaret did not remarry.

1) A portrait of Princess Margaret by Lord Snowdon. 2) A portrait of Antony Charles Robert Armstrong-Jones, 1^st Earl of Snowdon, c. 1990.

‘This Week’ feature program broadcast 20/11/1969. Archive Thames TV.

Tags: British royals, Angkor Wat, Bayon, 1960s, diplomacy, King Sihanouk, Prince Sihanouk