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Margaret rode out the shock of the divorce announcement in seclusion in London's King Edward VII Hospital, where she was treated for gastroenteritis and hepatitis. Roddy was in Tangier, accompanied—or so said the tabloids—by an unnamed blonde. Lord Snowdon, who now lives in a Kensington town house, appeared briefly to tell reporters stiffly: "I hope you will give support and encouragement to Princess Margaret when she comes out of the hospital and goes about her duties again." One paper acknowledged his own new personal status by flashing a front-page picture of "the girl Snowdon may marry," Lucy Lindsay-Hogg, 33, a divorcee who worked with Snowdon on a documentary film in Australia two years ago, and has frequently been seen with him in London.
Despite the divorce, Margaret will retain her title, her place (sixth) in line for the throne, her $100,000 allowance and her rent-free digs in London's Kensington Palace, as well as custody of her two children.
If she wishes to wed again, however, she could have problems, because the Church of England holds that a divorced person cannot remarry in the church while the former partner still lives. In her case, Margaret would have to ask permission of the Queen. Heading off untimely rumors, the royal family quickly let it be known that she has no marriage plans. Certainly, Margaret's remarriage would stir up antimonarchist sentiment in Britain. Immediately after the divorce announcement, Labor M.P. John Lee declared that the new development "must make more urgent the need for a review of the scale of royal remuneration for duties performed —and possibly a review of the question of royal titles as well."