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In their studies together, Elizabeth applied herself with diligence while Margaret romped and pranked. But what Elizabeth achieved by perseverance, Margaret seemed to absorb with much less show of effort. Elizabeth played the piano with skill and polish. Margaret switched from Handel to boogie-woogie when her teacher was out of hearing, but played even better. Music, like everything else, came easily to Margaret; her maternal grandmother once vowed that she heard her, at the age of eleven months, hum The Merry Widow waltz. But despite her own talents, no one was quicker than Margaret to recognize her sister's solider qualities. Once, at the end of a stern lecture on behavior, she remarked philosophically to her mother: "Isn't it lucky that Lilibet's the elder?"
Tapioca & Lipstick. Margaret's only real concern during her childhood was to make sure that she was left out of nothing and never went unnoticed. When Margaret felt neglected, she dropped salt in her sister's tea or put tapioca in her bathtub. As Elizabeth grew older and began entertaining mixed company at the Palace or Windsor, Margaret cheerfully crashed the parties. It soon became evident that her glib tongue and her talents for imitating Bing Crosby or Burl Ives more than made up in the eyes of the young men for her gawky lack of years. At ten, she shocked Elizabeth by remarking that Buckingham Palace's footmen were a handsome lot. At 14, she was caught redhanded sampling her father's champagne. At 16, she was dabbing herself with Schiaparelli's "Shocking," and insisting on her right to wear lipstick. The Queen tried a tactful remonstrance. "Do you really think it's becoming?" she asked. Margaret answered by dragging her mother in to see a movie short in which Elizabeth had been allowed to use lipstick, while she and the Queen went without. "See, Mummy," said Margaret, "you and I look like suet dumplings."
Sometimes the King tries to lay down the law to his younger daughter, but when thwarted, Margaret, whose temper can flare like a flash-fire, has been known to fling books and other missiles around the palace. Mostly, her parents have found that the best way to keep their daughter in line is to give her her head.
Roses & Overalls. Princess Margaret floated out into the social swim in Elizabeth's wake. At her sister's wedding she finally succeeded in coming into her own. There, for once, Margaret's taste and imagination were put to use by the family. When the problem of choosing dresses had to be faced, the two Elizabeths, who have never been noted for their chic, were glad enough to listen to Margaret. "I do not desire to be a leader of fashion," said the Queen. "Well," replied her younger daughter, "I do."
Along with this belated family nod came recognition from other sources. With Elizabeth married, newsmen took aim on Margaret. They described her clothes, noticed her lively good looks and her beautiful eyes. They followed her to nightclubs and peeped under tables to see whom she might be holding hands with. With wedding bells still ringing in the public's ears, every youthful Guards officer, every handsome lordling with whom Margaret danced twice, was touted as a possible husband for the young princess.