The Earl of Snowdon | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Snowdon in 1965 | |
| Member of theHouse of Lords | |
| Hereditary peerage 6 October 1961 – 11 November 1999 | |
| Preceded by | Peerage created |
| Succeeded by | Seat abolished |
| Life peerage 16 November 1999 – 31 March 2016 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Antony Charles Robert Armstrong-Jones (1930-03-07)7 March 1930 Belgravia, London, England |
| Died | 13 January 2017(2017-01-13) (aged 86) Kensington, London, England |
| Resting place | St Baglan's Church, Llanfaglan, Wales |
| Party | Crossbencher[1] |
| Spouses | |
| Children |
|
| Parents |
|
| Alma mater | Jesus College, Cambridge |
| Occupation | Photographer |
Antony Charles Robert Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon (7 March 1930 – 13 January 2017), was a British photographer. He was best known internationally for his portraits of prominent cultural and political figures, many of which were published inVogue,Vanity Fair,The Sunday Times Magazine,The Sunday Telegraph Magazine, and other major outlets. More than 280 of his photographs are held in the permanent collections of theNational Portrait Gallery. Between 1968 and 1973, he directed several television documentaries and contributed to design and accessibility reforms. A committed advocate for disabled people, he helped shape policy and infrastructure across the United Kingdom. Hemarried Princess Margaret, sister ofQueen Elizabeth II, in 1960; he was createdEarl of Snowdon the following year, and they divorced in 1978.
Antony Charles Robert Armstrong-Jones was born on 7 March 1930 atEaton Terrace inBelgravia, central London,[2] the second child and only son of the WelshbarristerRonald Armstrong-Jones (1899–1966) and his first wife,Anne Messel (laterCountess of Rosse; 1902–1992).[3][4] He was called "Tony" by his close relatives.[5][6][7]
Armstrong-Jones's paternal grandfather wasSir Robert Armstrong-Jones, a Welshpsychiatrist.[8] His paternal grandmother, Lady Armstrong-Jones (née Margaret Roberts), was one of the first 12 students at Somerville Hall (laterSomerville College) in Oxford and was the daughter of the Welsh educationalistSir Owen Roberts.[9] Armstrong-Jones's mother's family was of German-Jewish descent.[10] A maternal uncle was the stage designerOliver Messel (1904–1978); a maternal great-grandfather was thePunch cartoonistLinley Sambourne (1844–1910); and his great-great-uncleAlfred Messel was a Berlin architect.[11] Additionally, his great-great-grandmother, Frances Linley, was a first cousin ofElizabeth Linley, wife ofRichard Brinsley Sheridan.[12]
Armstrong-Jones's parents divorced in early 1935, before his fifth birthday.[13] His mother remarried later that year and had two more children.[14]
As a 16-year-old he contractedpolio while on holiday in Wales;[15][16] during the six months that he was in theLiverpool Royal Infirmary recuperating, the only visitor from his family was his sister Susan.[17][18] The illness left him with a withered left leg, one inch shorter than the other, and a slight permanent limp.[15][19]
Armstrong-Jones was educated at twoprivate boarding schools: first atSandroyd School in Surrey from the autumn term of 1938, then, a year later, at Sandroyd's new site in Wiltshire up to 1943.[20] After Sandroyd he attendedEton College, beginning in the autumn term ("Michaelmas half") of 1943.[21] In March 1945, he qualified in the "extra special weight" class of the School Boxing Finals.[22] He continued to box in 1946, gaining at least two flattering mentions in theEton College Chronicle.[23][24] In 1947, he was acoxswain in Eton's traditional "Fourth of June" Daylight Procession of Boats.[22]
He then matriculated at theUniversity of Cambridge, where he studied architecture atJesus College, but failed his second-year exams.[25] Hecoxed the winningCambridge boat in the1950 Boat Race.[26]
After university, Armstrong-Jones began a career as a photographer in fashion, design and theatre. His stepmother had a friend who knewBaron the photographer; Baron visited Armstrong-Jones in his London flat, which doubled as his work studio.[27] Baron, impressed, agreed to bring on Armstrong-Jones as an apprentice, first on a fee-paying basis[27] but eventually, as his talent and skills became apparent to Baron, as a salaried associate.[28]
Much of his early commissions were theatrical portraits, often with recommendations from his uncle Oliver Messel, and "society" portraits highly favoured inTatler, which, in addition to buying many of his photographs, gave him byline credit for the captions.[29] He later became known for his royal studies, among which were the official portraits ofQueen Elizabeth II andPrince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh during their 1957 tour of Canada.[30] He was also an early contributor toQueen magazine, the magazine owned by his friendJocelyn Stevens.[31][32]
Aftermarrying Princess Margaret in May 1960, Armstrong-Jones's first solo public engagement was on 7 December 1960, when he presented the 1960 National Challenge Trophies for the trade organisation thePhotographic Information Council's School Photography competition, with entries from 200 schools in Britain with camera clubs, at the opening of an exhibition of the work. News of this event was covered in American[33] and Australian[34] newspapers, as well as in England.
In line with the usual royal practice when a king's daughter married a commoner,[35] in October 1961 Armstrong-Jones was granted apeerage, becomingEarl of Snowdon, or Lord Snowdon.[36]
In the early 1960s, Snowdon became the artistic adviser ofThe Sunday Times Magazine, and by the 1970s had established himself as one of Britain's most respected photographers. Though his work included everything from fashion photography to documentary images of inner-city life and the mentally ill, he is best known for his portraits of world notables, many of them published inVogue,Vanity Fair,The Sunday Times Magazine, andThe Sunday Telegraph Magazine. His subjects includedMarlene Dietrich,Laurence Olivier,Maggie Smith,Leslie Caron,[29]Lynn Fontanne,[29]David Bowie,Elizabeth Taylor,Rupert Everett,Anthony Blunt,[37]David Hockney,[38]Princess Grace of Monaco,Diana, Princess of Wales,Barbara Cartland,Raine Spencer (when she was Lady Lewisham),Desmond Guinness,[38] British prime ministerHarold Macmillan,[38]Iris Murdoch,[38]Tom Stoppard,[38]Vladimir Nabokov,[38] andJ. R. R. Tolkien.[39] More than 280 of his photographs are in the permanent collections of theNational Portrait Gallery.[40]
In 1968, he made his first documentary film,Don't Count the Candles,[41] for the US television networkCBS, on the subject of aging. It won seven awards,[30] including twoEmmys.[42][43] This was followed byLove of a Kind (1969), about the British and animals,[44]Born to Be Small (1971) about people of restricted growth[45] andHappy Being Happy (1973).[46]
In October 1981, a group portrait by Snowdon of the British rock bandQueen was used on the cover of theirGreatest Hits album.[47] A Snowdon portrait ofFreddie Mercury was used in 2000 on the cover of Mercury's compilation box setThe Solo Collection.[48]
In 2000, Snowdon was given a retrospective exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery,Photographs by Snowdon: A Retrospective,[49] which travelled to theYale Center for British Art the following year.[50] More than 180 of his photographs were displayed in an exhibition that honoured what the museums called "a rounded career with sharp edges".[50]
Snowdon was an Honorary Fellow of theRoyal Photographic Society—he was awarded the Hood Medal of the Society in 1978 and the Progress Medal in 1985.[51][52]
In 2006, Tomas Maier, creative director of the Italian fashion brandBottega Veneta, brought in Snowdon to photograph his Autumn/Winter 2006 campaign.[53]
Snowdon co-designed (in 1963, withFrank Newby andCedric Price) the "Snowdon Aviary" of theLondon Zoo (which opened in 1964); he later said it was one of his creations of which he was most proud, and affectionately called it the "birdcage".[18] He also had a major role in designing the physical arrangements for the1969 investiture of his nephew Prince Charles asPrince of Wales.[54]
He was granted a patent for a type ofelectric wheelchair in 1971.[55]
Contracting polio as a teenager left Snowdon with a shortened leg and a limp. As a result, in adulthood, he was a fierce and tireless campaigner for disabled people, and over several decades achieved dozens of groundbreaking political, economic, structural, transportation, and educational reforms for persons with any type of disability.[56]
In the 1960s, he served as a council member of the Polio Research Fund, later renamed the National Fund for Research into Crippling Diseases.[57] He served as a trustee of the National Fund for Research into Crippling Diseases, since renamedAction Medical Research.[29]
In June 1980, Snowdon started an award scheme for disabled students.[16][30] This scheme, administered by the Snowdon Trust, provides grants and scholarships for students with disabilities.[58]
He was president for England of theInternational Year of Disabled Persons in 1981.[16]
In 1981, he formed the Snowdon Council; it consisted of 12 members who coordinated a dozen different bodies concerned with helping disabled people.[30]
During his first marriage, Snowdon was patron of theNational Youth Theatre, theContemporary Art Society for Wales, theWelsh Theatre Company, and theCivic Trust for Wales.[29] He was also President of the BritishTheatre Museum.[29]
He was provost of theRoyal College of Art from 1995 to 2003.[59]
Snowdon was married twice, first toPrincess Margaret (1960 to 1978), and secondly to Lucy MaryLindsay-Hogg (1978 to 2000).[60]
In February 1960, Snowdon, then known as Antony Armstrong-Jones, became engaged to Queen Elizabeth II's sister, Princess Margaret, and they married on 6 May 1960 atWestminster Abbey. The ceremony was the first royal wedding to be broadcast on television.[61] Despite the enthusiasm of the public, some critics disapproved of a commoner marrying into the royal family.[62] The couple made their home in apartments atKensington Palace. He was createdEarl of Snowdon andViscount Linley, ofNymans in theCounty of Sussex, on 6 October 1961.[36] The couple had two children:David, born 1961, andSarah, born 1964.[63]
The marriage began to collapse early and publicly; various causes may have been behind the failure. On Margaret's end, there was her penchant for late-night partying, while on Snowdon's part there was his undisguised alleged sexual addiction ("'If it moves, he'll have it', was the summing-up of one close friend", writes biographer de Courcy).[17]Anne de Courcy, in her 2008 authorised biography, writes "'[T]o most of the girls who worked in the Pimlico Road studio, there seemed little doubt that Tony was gay'. To which Tony responds: 'I didn't fall in love with boys – but a few men have been in love with me.'"[17] Snowdon's entry in theDictionary of National Biography identifies him as bisexual, a label which he never denied during his life.[10][60] In his 2009 memoir,Redeeming Features, British interior designerNicky Haslam claimed that he had an affair with Snowdon before the latter's marriage to Princess Margaret and that Snowdon had also been the lover of Tom Parr, another leading interior designer.[64] De Courcy reveals a series of affairs with women, including a 20-year relationship with his mistress, journalist Ann Hills, which lasted from 1976 until her suicide in 1996.[65]
The couple remained married for eighteen years. "They were both pretty strong-willed and accustomed to having their own way, so there were bound to be collisions", according to de Courcy. His work also consumed a great deal of time. "She expected her husband to be with her more, but one of Tony's strongest motivations was work."[66] The marriage was accompanied by drugs, alcohol, and bizarre behaviour by both parties, such as his leaving lists of "Twenty Reasons Why I Hate You" for the princess to find between the pages of books she read.[10] According to biographerSarah Bradford, one note read: "You look like a Jewish manicurist and I hate you".[67] According to biographer de Courcy, "Most people, including the Royal Family, took his side."[17]
When high society palled for Snowdon, he would escape to a hideaway cottage with his lovers or on overseas photographic assignments. Among Snowdon's lovers in the late 1960s was Lady Jacqueline Rufus-Isaacs, daughter of the3rd Marquess of Reading.[60] In spite of her own affairs, Margaret was said to be particularly upset when hearing about this woman.[66] Margaret and Snowdon separated in 1976, and the marriage ended in divorce in 1978.[63]
In 2004,The Sunday Telegraph reported that Snowdon had fathered an illegitimate daughter shortly before marrying Princess Margaret.[68] Polly Fry, born on 28 May 1960 in the third week of Lord Snowdon's marriage to Princess Margaret, was brought up as a daughter ofJeremy Fry, inventor and member of theFry's chocolate family, and his wife Camilla.[68][69] Polly Fry asserted that aDNA test in 2004 proved Snowdon's paternity. Jeremy Fry rejected her claim, and Snowdon denied having taken a DNA test. However, four years later, after Jeremy Fry had died, Snowdon admitted that this account was true.[60][68]
After his divorce from Princess Margaret, Lord Snowdon married Lucy Mary Lindsay-Hogg (née Davies), the former wife ofSir Michael Lindsay-Hogg, 5th Baronet, in December 1978. In 1979, they had a daughter, Lady Frances Armstrong-Jones, who became a designer and board member of the Snowdon Trust.[70] In 2006, Lady Frances married Rodolphe vonHofmannsthal (born 1980), the great-grandson ofHugo von Hofmannsthal.[71] By 2024, Lady Frances was romantically partnered with Hugh Corcoran, with whom she operated the Yellow Bittern, a restaurant in London.[72]
The Snowdons separated and subsequently divorced in 2000,[73] after the revelation that in 1998 Snowdon had fathered a son, Jasper William Oliver Cable-Alexander, by Melanie Cable-Alexander, an editor atCountry Life magazine.[74][75]
Lord Snowdon died at his home inKensington on 13 January 2017, aged 86.[25] His funeral took place on 20 January atSt Baglan's Church in the remote village ofLlanfaglan nearCaernarfon. He was buried in the family plot in the churchyard.[76]
Snowdon authored and curated a book of his own photographs, entitledSnowdon: A Life in View.[10] It was edited by his daughter Lady Frances von Hofmannsthal.Graydon Carter wrote the foreword andPatrick Kinmonth wrote the introduction.Tom Ford is listed as a contributor in the book's credentials. It was published byRizzoli in 2017.[77]
Generally, Snowdon's publications have been attributed to Antony Armstrong-Jones. Occasionally, the byline includes Earl of Snowdon, and most of the titles at least contain Snowdon in the title.
Following his wedding, Armstrong-Jones was granted an earldom[36] and introduced to theHouse of Lords as the Earl of Snowdon on 28 February 1962.[78] The awarding of the earldom was in line with the practice of granting a peerage upon marriage into the royal family.[35] Snowdon was appointedConstable ofCaernarfon Castle in 1963; as part of this role, he designed and organised theInvestiture of the Prince of Wales in 1969.[30][79]
He made his maiden speech in the House of Lords in April 1972[80] on the problems that disabled people suffered in everyday life.[16] One of his last contributions to the Lords was in response to theQueen's Speech of 1992.[81]
On 16 November 1999, Lord Snowdon was created Baron Armstrong-Jones, ofNymans in the County of West Sussex.[82] This was alife peerage given to him so that he could keep his seat in the House of Lords after most hereditary peers had beenexcluded. An offer of a life peerage was made to all hereditary peers of the first creation (those for whom a peerage was originally created, as opposed to those who inherited a peerage from an ancestor) at that time.[83] The government of the day had expected Lord Snowdon to follow the example of members of the royal family and turn down his right to a life peerage. At the time,Labour MPFraser Kemp said he was "shocked and surprised that someone who achieved their position in the House of Lords by virtue of marriage should accept a seat in the reformed Lords".[83]
Snowdon retired from the House of Lords on 31 March 2016,[84] having seldom attended[85] nor claimed any expenses for many years.[86][87]
 |
|
| Name | Birth | Marriage | Issue | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| by Camilla Grinling Fry | ||||
| Polly Fry | 28 May 1960 | Barnaby Higson[68] | 5 children[68] | |
| byPrincess Margaret | ||||
| David Armstrong-Jones, 2nd Earl of Snowdon | 3 November 1961 | 8 October 1993 Separated 2020 | Serena Stanhope | Charles Armstrong-Jones, Viscount Linley Lady Margarita Armstrong-Jones |
| Lady Sarah Armstrong-Jones | 1 May 1964 | 14 July 1994[93] | Daniel Chatto | Samuel Chatto[94] Arthur Chatto[94] |
| by Lucy Mary Lindsay-Hogg | ||||
| Lady Frances Armstrong-Jones | 17 July 1979 | 2 December 2006[95] Separated 2022 | Rodolphe vonHofmannsthal[95] | Rex von Hofmannsthal[96] Maud von Hofmannsthal[97] Sybil von Hofmannsthal |
| by Melanie Cable-Alexander | ||||
| Jasper Cable-Alexander[98] | 30 April 1998 | |||
Armstrong-Jones is portrayed byMatthew Goode inseason 2 of theNetflix seriesThe Crown,[99] and byBen Daniels inseason 3.[100]
In 1899 Sir Robert Jones, who subsequently altered his name to Armstrong-Jones, had a son named Ronald. The family was, at that time, living in the London area and retainedPlas Dinas as their country home in Wales. Sir Ronald Jones married Anne, and the marriage produced a son, Antony, who in 1961 [sic] married HRH Princess Margaret, the Queen's sister.
...Margaret was the daughter of Sir Owen Roberts
Artist of 285 portraits
| Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| New creation | Earl of Snowdon 1961–2017 Member of theHouse of Lords (1961–2016) | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
| Other | |
