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Princess Margaret's Style Evolution, From Peak Princess To Style Icon

In honor of the premiere of Season 3 of "The Crown," here are some of Princess Margaret's finest fashion moments.

She may have been spare to the heir, but that hardly mattered to Princess Margaret.

While her older sister, Elizabeth, ascended to the British throne at the age of 25, Margaret fulfilled the responsibilities of her title while also living a life that was royally fun.

With the spotlight more on her sister, Margaret partied with the Beatles, drank a tad too much and woke up late, taking “breakfast in bed and chain-smoking” for hours, as dramatised in the first season of “The Crown.” She had a handful of tumultuous love affairs (eventually marrying and divorcing photographer Antony Armstrong-Jones, known as Lord Snowden), and traipsed around her vacation home Les Jolies Eaux on the Caribbean island of Mustique twice every year for three decades.

Princesses Margaret and the future Queen Elizabeth wearing elaborate dresses for "Old Mother Red Riding Boots," a Christmas pantomime they performed in at Windsor Castle.
Lisa Sheridan via Getty Images
Princesses Margaret and the future Queen Elizabeth wearing elaborate dresses for "Old Mother Red Riding Boots," a Christmas pantomime they performed in at Windsor Castle.

And through it all, she was dressed to the nines. Her style prowess was so on-point, it earned a nickname in the 1950s, “The Margaret Look.”

Margaret favored pretty floral print dresses and the floor-length ballgowns you’d expect of a princess in her youth. But by her 20s, she had introduced bold accessories to her look ― bright headscarves, mod sunglasses, feathery hats.

In tribute to her fashion ― and because excitement for “The Crown” couldn’t be higher ― we’ve rounded up 93 photos that capture Margaret at her most royal and most mod.

1930
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Queen Elizabeth, Queen Consort to King George VI, with Princesses Elizabeth, left, and Margaret Rose.
1930s
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Princess Elizabeth with her embroidered gift made by disabled ex-servicemen. Beside her is Princess Margaret.
1936
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The Duchess of York with her daughters Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret in the garden of the Royal Lodge at Windsor.
1930s
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Britain's Royal Family some time in the 1930s. King George VI stands with his wife, Elizabeth, and their two daughters, Princess Margaret and Crown Princess Elizabeth, the future Queen Elizabeth II.
1940
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The two young princesses, daughters of King George VI. This portrait was made on April 17, 1940, the 14th birthday of Princess Elizabeth. Princess Margaret Rose is 9 years old.
1940
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Princess Margaret, 10, on her pony Greylight after riding in Windsor Great Park.
1940
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Princess Margaret Rose (1930-2002), younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, in the schoolroom at Windsor Castle.
1940s
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Princess Margaret in her uniform.
1942
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Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Margaret wearing summer dresses, circa 1942.
1943
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A royal production of the Christmas pantomime "Aladdin" at Windsor Castle, starring Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret Rose as Aladdin and the Princess.
1944
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Princess Margaret Rose wearing a floral dress and holding a straw hat.
1944
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Princess Margaret Rose of England wearing an evening dress with sequined butterflies around the shoulders.
1946
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Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret arriving at Albert Hall for a percussion performance in favor of the funds of the British Army's volunteers.
1946
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Elizabeth II as a Sea Ranger at a youth parade with Princess Margaret.
1947
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Princess Elizabeth with her husband, Philip; Queen Elizabeth; King George VI and Princess Margaret.
1947
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The royal wedding party on the balcony of Buckingham Palace after Princess Elizabeth was married to Lt. Philip Mountbatten in a ceremony at Westminster Abbey. From left: King George VI, Princess Margaret, unidentified, the bride Princess Elizabeth (now Queen Elizabeth II), Philip Mountbatten (now the Duke of Edinburgh), the Queen Mother and Queen Mary, widow of George V.
1947
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Princess Elizabeth and Group Captain Peter Townsend in 1947. In 1955, Princess Margaret was refused permission to marry Townsend, a divorced Royal Air Force captain.
1948
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Portrait of Princess Margaret
1948
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Princess Margaret and her friend David Ogilvy
1948
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Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret Rose arriving at the theater.
1949
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Princess Margaret is greeted by the Cadet Guard of Honor with the Lord Mayor of Bristol on March 28, 1949, in Bristol, United Kingdom.
1949
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Princess Margaret in uniform as commandant-in-chief of St. John Ambulance Brigade Cadets.
1949
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Princess Margaret of England.
1949
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Princess Margaret Rose of England performed the ceremony of the reopening of the Women's Resident Training college for elementary school teachers at Avery Hill, Etham. The college was badly damaged in the Blitz in 1941 and 1944.
1950
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Princess Margaret at a Royal Air Force air show on July 7, 1950.
1951
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Princess Margaret attending the premiere of the film "Captain Horatio Hornblower" at the Warner Theatre Leicester Square.
1951
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Queen Elizabeth II and her sister, Princess Margaret, and baby daughter Princess Anne on the grounds of Balmoral Castle in Scotland on Aug. 21, 1951.
1952
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Princess Margaret arrives at the Leicester Square Empire for a film festival on Oct. 28, 1952.
1953
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Princess Margaret in London.
1953
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Queen Elizabeth II, left, with her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, and Princess Margaret Rose in the throne room of Buckingham Palace after her coronation ceremony.
1953
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The cover of the June 27, 1953, issue of Picture Post magazine, featuring a portrait of Princess Margaret.
1954
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Princess Margaret and friends.
1955
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The Queen Mother with Princess Margaret.
1955
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Princess Margaret is met by the Earl of Ranfurly, governor of the Bahamas, as she begins her official visit to Nassau, the last stop in her 1955 Caribbean tour.
1956
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During her royal tour of East Africa, Princess Margaret visits an animal farm near Arusha, Tanzania.
1956
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Princess Margaret at a garden party during her African tour.
1956
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Princess Margaret on her 26th birthday.
1957
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Italian actress Gina Lollobrigida and Princess Margaret at the opening of the National Film Theater on Oct. 16, 1957, in London.
1958
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Princess Margaret in British Honduras during her 1958 tour of the Caribbean.
1958
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Princess Margaret debuts a shorter hairstyle.
1958
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Princess Margaret arrives in England after her tour of Canada.
1960
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Princess Margaret arrives at the Strowger Works in Edge Lane, Liverpool.
1960
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Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones on the grounds of Royal Lodge after they announced their engagement.
1960
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Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon, marries Princess Margaret.
1960
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Princess Margaret and her husband, the photographer Antony Armstrong-Jones, arrive in 1960 in London at the Opera House.
1960
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Princess Margaret attends the premiere of the film "The Alamo" at the Astoria in London.
1961
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Princess Margaret with her baby son David.
1962
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Princess Margaret waving to crowds at Denbeigh in Jamaica. She attended the ceremonies marking the former British colony's independence.
1962
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Princess Margaret, a fan of Frank Sinatra, shakes hands with the artist in Northwood on his tour on behalf of blind children.
1963
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Princess Margaret at the Commonwealth Institute in London to open a Rhodesian Art exhibition.
1963
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Princess Margaret meets The Beatles.
1964
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Princess Margaret, in costume, signs an autograph in London during a ball.
1965
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Lord Snowdon sitting on the fence next to Princess Margaret during a visit to a ranch in Arizona.
1965
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U.S. President Lyndon Johnson, right, with, from left, Lord Snowden, Lady Bird Johnson and Princess Margaret in the Queen's Room at the White House on Nov. 17, 1965, before a dinner-dance in honor of the princess and her husband.
1966
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Princess Margaret meets players of Sheffield before the FA Cup Final at Wembley against Everton.
1966
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Princess Margaret arriving at Fishmonger's Hall with her husband, Antony Armstrong-Jones, Lord Snowdon.
1967
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Princess Margaret greets the film star couple Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton at the Royal Film Performance of "The Taming of the Shrew."
1967
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Princess Margaret meets Lithuanian-born actor Laurence Harvey and actress Mia Farrow at a showing of the film "The Taming of the Shrew" at the Odeon Leicester Square.
1967
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Princess Margaret walks with her husband in the Bahamas.
1967
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Princess Margaret with "Head of a Woman," part of a Picasso exhibition at the Tate Gallery, London.
1967
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Princess Margaret with the Aga Khan at his vacation resort in August 1967.
1968
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Princess Margaret, left, meets some of the models at the London showing of Italian designer Valentino's autumn/winter collection in aid of the Invalid Children's Aid Association, of which she was the president.
1969
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Princess Margaret in a diamond tiara, earrings and necklace.
1969
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Princess Margaret with her two children, Viscount Linley and Lady Sarah Armstrong-Jones, at Windsor Castle during filming of the joint ITV-BBC film documentary "The Royal Family."
1969
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Princess Margaret, Princess Anne and the Queen Mother arrive to attend the investiture of Prince Charles as Prince of Wales at Caernarvon Castle on July 1, 1969, in Wales.
1971
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Princess Margaret meets members of The Four Tops and The Supremes backstage at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
1972
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Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon meet singer Elton John backstage at a benefit concert held at the Shaw Theatre in London on Feb. 27, 1972.
1973
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Princess Margaret With Queen Elizabeth II and the Queen Mother at the Badminton Horse Trials.
1974
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Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones attend the Royal Ballet at the Met, circa May 1974 in New York City.
1975
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Princess Margaret at the Windsor Horse Show.
1977
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Princess Margaret chats with Rolling Stones rocker Mick Jagger.
1978
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Princess Margaret attends Tuvalu's independence festivities on Oct. 1, 1978, in Tuvalu.
1979
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Princess Margaret at Royal Ascot Races.
1980
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Princess Margaret visits the Royal Highland Fusiliers in Germany.
1981
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Lady Diana Spencer with the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret during Nicholas Soames' wedding in Westminster, London, on June 4, 1981.
1982
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Princess Margaret arrives for a performance of "Swan Lake" by the London Festival Ballet on May 25, 1982, at the London Coliseum.
1983
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Princess Margaret dances a highland reel at the Royal Caledonian Ball on May 13, 1983, at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London.
1984
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Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, with Princess Margaret at his side, holds young Prince William on the balcony of Buckingham Palace following the Trooping the Colour ceremony on June 16, 1984.
1985
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Princess Margaret circa 1985 in New York City.
1985
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Princess Margaret at the Royal Festival Hall.
1987
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Princess Margaret at the state opening of Parliament.
1988
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Diana, Princess of Wales, holding a young Prince Harry in her arms as she watches Trooping the Colour with Prince William and Princess Margaret from the balcony of Buckingham Palace.
1990
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Princess Margaret at the London Palladium for the Queen Mother's 90th birthday.
1991
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The queen with Princess Margaret and her daughter-in-law, the Duchess of York, at Ascot.
1991
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The queen smiles as her sister, Princess Margaret, moves away a Christmas decoration during a visit backstage at London's Royal Opera House.
1992
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Princess Margaret, the Princess of Wales, Sir George Solti, Lady Solti and the Prince of Wales at Buckingham Palace for Sir George's 80th birthday party.
1993
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Princess Margaret with Bernadette Chirac at the end of the premiere of the International Dance Festival in Paris.
1995
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Princess Margaret at the Heads of State Banquet at Guildhall, London, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the end of war in Europe.
1996
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Princess Margaret at London's Waterloo station waiting for French President Jacques Chirac at the start of his official visit to Britain.
1997
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Princess Margaret at the state opening of Parliament.
1999
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Queen Elizabeth II and her sister, Princess Margaret, attend the Queen Mother's 99th birthday celebration at Clarence House in London on Aug. 4,1999.
1999
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Princess Margaret in her capacity as patron of the Pottery and Glass Trades' Benevolent Institution, attends a reception at the Savoy Hotel in London.
2000
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Princess Margaret attends a "Birthday Offering" ballet performance at London's Sadler's Wells Theatre to celebrate her 70th birthday on Oct. 22, 2000.
2000
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The queen and the Duke of Edinburgh with Princess Margaret on the balcony at Buckingham Palace after the Trooping of the Colour ceremony.
held at Horse Guards parade.

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