“The younger-sibling syndrome is an enduring problem,” author Robert Lacey said of how siblings fit in the royal system.
The struggle is real for younger siblings of the future monarch.
More than a half century before Prince Harry’s shocking royal exit, his great-aunt Princess Margaret struggled with her place in the shadow of her older sister Elizabeth.
The younger-sibling syndrome is an enduring problem,” Robert Lacey, author of the books Majesty and Monarch, tells PEOPLE in this week’s cover story. “The system has not found a way of giving them the recognition that they need.”
And as the older sibling has children, the problem only worsens.
Until Elizabeth produced heirs, Margaret was a possible future Queen,” added Lacey. “It is a family situation of conflict that goes back over generations.”
Before 1936, neither Elizabeth nor Margaret expected their father to become king. But when his brother, King Edward VIII, abdicated the throne to marry American divorcée Wallis Simpson, their lives were turned upside down.
About five years after becoming Queen, Elizabeth and Margaret’s relationship was tested by Margaret’s love affair with Peter Townsend, whom she wanted to marry.
The Queen asked them to wait, and according to Margaret’s biographer, Christopher Warwick, the relationship fizzled out.
Margaret — who died in February 2002, just one month before their mother’s passing — is portrayed by actress Helena Bonham Carter on Netflix’s The Crown, which chronicles the Princess’ rollercoaster love life.
A similar rift between brothers Prince Harry and Prince William can be traced back to the early days of Harry and Meghan Markle’s romance, when, sources said, William cautioned Harry about moving too fast.
Read the full article on People: https://people.com/royals/from-princess-margaret-to-prince-harry-inside-the-trouble-with-being-the-spare/
