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Unthinkable. The first reaction of Britain's press to the Daily News's story was that such a romance was "quite unthinkable." but by last week Britain's press and public were in debate over the most controversial royal romance since that of Edward VIII and Wally Simpson. IF THEY WANT TO MARRY, WHY SHOULDN'T THEY? demanded Lord Beaverbrook's Sunday Express, an old champion of Edward's romance. But the austere Church of England Newspaper, shook a stern finger.. Princess Margaret, it warned, "is a dutiful churchwoman who knows what strong views leaders of the church hold in this matter . . . The thought of the religious principle concerned might cause to some the very deepest suffering."
Meanwhile, to gain time to test the course of true love and to test the public's response, Group Captain Townsend was posted off to an embassy sinecure in Brussels. On tour in Southern Rhodesia with her mother, Princess Margaret complained of a cold, was ordered to bed by her doctor—a heart specialist.
*Under the present act, Princess Margaret—as the first adult in the line of succession—would become regent (i.e., acting Queen) for Prince Charles at Elizabeth's death or incapacity. As such, she would continue to be an important political figure until Charles, now 4, becomes 18. If the act were changed (as Elizabeth wishes) to make Philip the regent, Margaret would become merely another heir (the third in line) to a throne she is not likely to ascend.