 Since Townsend was a divorced man, and divorce was then anathema to the British establishment and the royal household, Princess Margaret was told that she would lose her royal status and privileges if she married him.The accounts of this period are somewhat in conflict, and some obituaries for Rosemary and her former husband have suggested a different story behind the official one.Princess Margaret and Townsend became close at some point before Townsend sued for divorce in November 1952; most obituaries state that the Princess turned to Townsend for comfort after the sudden death of her father in February 1952.