Vodka at noon! Is Princess Margaret’s decadent lifestyle the antidote to Gregg Wallace’s joyless routine?
The royal’s life of long baths and four-course lunches is a dream compared with Wallace’s 5am wake-up and hours alone playing strategy games
January 2023
Observer New Review Q&A
Helena Bonham Carter: ‘I’ve got so many issues, but as you get older you go: whatever’
Beware the ‘spare’: let’s drop the need for a second-in-line, and let Harry be the last
Kate Williams
November 2022
Observer New Review Q&A
Anne Glenconner: ‘It was as if I was pimping for Princess Margaret!’
The writer and socialite on surviving domestic abuse, how she stays fit at ‘90 and a half’, and why The Crown makes her mad
July 2022
£187m of Windsor family wealth hidden in secret royal wills
Contents of dozens of royal wills have been kept private by judges in special hearings closed to the public
October 2021
Two princesses, a royal dressmaker and a row about a wedding gown
Norman Hartnell’s private documents and scrapbooks detailing furore over Princess Margaret’s wedding dress are up for sale
November 2020
The Crown: the pleasure, and shock, of seeing the royals as truly human for once
Sarah Ditum
'Charles is very stylish': how The Crown's costume designer brought 1980s to life
October 2020
Helena Bonham Carter: ‘Divorce is cruel. But some parts are to be recommended'
She doesn’t believe in a stiff upper lip, or pretending – unless it’s for work. The actor talks about her split with Tim Burton, friendship with Johnny Depp, and playing the Queen’s sister
March 2020
'I’m no snowflake': Anne Glenconner on Margaret, marriage and Meghan Markle
The former lady-in-waiting’s memoir is a surprise bestseller. She discusses family tragedy and why Princess Margaret was more fun than people think
January 2020
Further reading
From Meghan Markle to Princess Margaret: books to understand the royal family
Fascinated by the current royal rumpus? Kathryn Hughes picks the best literary insights into the British monarchy
December 2019
Oh, do give Boris Johnson a break. After all he’ll do for us, why shouldn’t he jet off to Mustique?
Catherine Bennett
As he girds his loins for the road ahead, a little lotus eating is the ideal preparation
November 2019
The royal treatment: the majestic role of fashion in The Crown
By recreating the royals’ outfits and ramping up the glamour, the hit TV drama constantly blurs the line between fact and fiction. That is what makes the show so compelling
October 2019
Shortcuts
‘What were you thinking of, Johnson?’ What the ghost of Princess Margaret might tell the PM
Helena Bonham Carter says she discussed her part in The Crown with the deceased royal. What advice might Her Royal Highness have for Boris Johnson?
Brief letters
The Crown: Princess Margaret role should have gone to Kathy Burke
Brief letters: Jeremy Corbyn | Offensive language | The Crown | Welsh household meals | Ginger Baker
Helena Bonham Carter sought Princess Margaret's blessing through psychic
The actor says she discussed her part in The Crown with the deceased royal herself
August 2019
As The Crown returns, watch out for these milestones
When series three lands this autumn, Rhodesia, the EEC and Margaret Thatcher will be among challenges facing the palace
June 2019
Nigel Slater recipes
Nigel Slater’s asparagus pakora and strawberry ricotta puffs recipes
A simple summer feast that’s fit for a princess
June 2018
On my radar
On my radar: Craig Brown’s cultural highlights
The satirist and author on comedian Kieran Hodgson, his favourite celebrity dispute and the energy of Rodin
May 2018
From the Guardian archive
New proof for Kon-Tiki theory – archive, 1953
18 May 1953: Thor Heyerdahl demonstrates the raft that sailed across the Pacific and tells Princess Margaret about new evidence that inhabitants of the Polynesian Islands originally came from South America
