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Princess Margaret has often been described as the rebellious sister of the Queen due to her more outspoken and exuberant character. Despite these differences, the princess dutifully supported Her Majesty through years of charitable and ambassadorial work across the world. But according to royal author Christopher Warwick, Princess Margaret rejected a title she automatically received over concerns she would be forced to live forever in her “sister’s shadow.”

Speaking to Channel 5’s documentary ‘Princess Margaret: Rebel without a Crown,’ Mr Warwick said: “Princess Margaret said to me she never minded being described or being called the younger daughter.

“But she said, ‘I’ve always minded being described as the younger sister.’

“I think part of that is that she minded the idea that she was always in her sister’s shadow.”

Princess Margaret saw her position in the British line of succession change suddenly following her uncle’s decision to abdicate in favour of her father, King George VI.

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While Margaret became third-in-line to the throne, her older sister Princess Elizabeth unexpectedly became the next heir to the throne – creating a sudden divide between the two sisters.

Commentators over the years suggested the already-mischievous Margaret further conducted herself differently from her sister to “compensate” for the sudden change.

Historian Prof Jane Ridley said: “Before the abdication, Margaret was the younger daughter of the Duke of York.

“It’s quite a long way down the line of succession. But after the abdication, Margaret’s father became King George VI, her older sister Elizabeth was the heir to the throne.

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“So Margaret was relegated to that very difficult position of being the younger sibling to the heir to the throne.”

Royal author Tom Quinn echoed Prof Ridley’s assessment suggesting the abdication of King Edward VIII had left young princess Margaret questioning her role within the Royal Family.

Mr Quinn said: “Elizabeth suddenly had been set up for a starring role that perhaps she never imagined.

“And Margaret, from then on, had a sense not that she was second-best but that she wasn’t going to be Queen.”

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He continued: “She had to compensate for not being her sister and the only way she could do that was to get as much attention as she could by being funnier, louder, slightly more mischievous.”

Princess Margaret’s mischievousness resulted in the royal creating her personal scapegoat to avoid repercussions for her behaviour.

In her book ‘Young Elizabeth: The Making of Our Queen,’ Dr Williams wrote: “Most amusingly, Margaret later invented a ‘Cousin Halifax’, an imaginary friend who was to blame for her naughtiness.

“‘I was busy with Cousin Halifax,’ when she was chastised for being late, and, ‘It wasn’t me, it was Cousin Halifax,’ when told off for spilling milk or untidiness.”

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