Why Princess Margaret Called Herself a "Bad-Tempered Old Devil" After "Tearful" Incident

Princess Margaret was renowned for her glamour, wit and rebellious spirit, but behind closed doors, she had a less flattering reputation. Those who worked for her over the years have spoken of a princess who could be demanding, imperious, and, at times, downright cruel. One royal author has shared some insights about Queen Elizabeth's little sister and her relationship with her staff—including one story that showed "her more vulnerable side."

With a recent Channel 5 documentary about palace staffers and Tom Quinn's upcoming book, Yes, Ma'am: The Secret Life Of Royal Servants, there's been plenty of below-stairs gossip as of late. Per the Daily Mail, Princess Diana’s longtime butler Paul Burrell said that when Princess Margaret returned back to Kensington Palace, she'd "touch the TV, testing it for warmth in case the servants had been watching it while her back was turned."

The outlet also quoted author Anne de Courcy, who wrote that Margaret treated "those who looked after her inconsiderately and with maddening demands that often caused endless extra work."

A former Kensington Palace maid who worked there in the '50s told Quinn that Princess Margaret's attitude toward staff was so severe "that she was told not to look at Margaret or to speak to her unless spoken to. If she met the princess in a corridor, she was told to move aside and look down."

However, the maid in question told Quinn that she once received a rare apology from the princess.

"She bit my head off once—I can't remember why, but I had muddled something," the former palace staffer said. "Anyway, I was very young at the time and felt instantly tearful. She must have noticed because she said: 'Take no notice of me. I'm just a bad-tempered old devil who can't help it.'"

The former maid added, "I've never forgotten that because it was the only time I saw her more vulnerable side."

In Quinn's new book, he shared that Margaret would get upset if any servants were nearby when she was arguing with her husband, and (via the Daily Mail) "would almost run towards them shouting 'Shoo! Shoo!'"

The author also heard from former staffers who had witnessed a kinder side to the princess, noting that she gave one palace servant two weeks off work while she was going through a divorce "and said if it wasn't enough to take more."

Interestingly, Quinn wrote that "when she got angry with her staff, it was often because she was angry with her life and especially with her relationship with her philandering husband," noting that royals further down the pecking order "tend to be imperious with their staff in proportion to their own relative lack of status."