Princess Margaret Poses in the Bathtub With Her Tiara on for Her Husband, Anthony Armstrong-Jones, 1962

Princess Margaret is playfully captured here, wearing a smile and the Poltimore tiara, by her then husband, Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon. Taken in her Kensington Palace bath in 1962, this work was kept from the public eye until a 2006 exhibition of Lord Snowdon’s photographs at Chris Beetles gallery.

Princess Margaret, Queen Elizabeth’s younger sister, got married to photographer Antony Armstrong in an opulent wedding ceremony in 1960. The Royal Princess looked ethereal in a pristine white gown for her wedding.

However, it was the enormous ornate tiara, crowning her head, that garnered maximum attention. Not only because of its grandeur, but also because Princess Margaret bought the bejeweled tiara herself. She bought the tiara for 5,500 pounds in 1958.

But why didn’t Queen give her a tiara for the wedding? Considering, royal brides including Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton also wore tiaras from the royal collection. It is not exactly known why Princess Margaret bought her own tiara for her wedding, especially when it is likely that she had access to the royal collection. But it is quite well known that Princess Margaret was a rebel since the beginning. Speculations suggest that she wanted something more ostentatious for herself and something she could keep herself.

According to The Daily Express, the tiara was sold for over a million pounds to settle an enormous tax bill by her children.