Dear Friends,

I have just been watching The Crown on Netflix and was reminded that I "spent an afternoon" with Princess Margaret in 1974. I thought I would share my story and pictures with you.

I was living in England with my ex-husband Jack Barranger on a Fulbright teacher exchange program from the fall of 1973 to the spring of 1974. He exchanged teaching jobs with an English English teacher by the name of Alan Golightly (pronounced  "Go Lightly").   Alan took Jack’s job at Grossmont College and Jack took Alan's job at a college in Hemel-Hempstead, England. We even exchanged cars - unfortunately Alan's Ford Cortina was unreliable and I remember getting to know quite a few “garages” in Wales, Scotland, and the British Isles while our car was being resuscitated.

Because we were part of a group of at least 50 Fulbright teachers, many events were planned for us, such as weekends in the Cotswold's and a behind the scenes tour of the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford.   The grand finale before we all went back to the States was a Royal Garden Party at Buckingham Palace. The Royal we got to meet was Princess Margaret. Jack and I were chosen to introduce Princess Margaret to a semi-circle of about 30 people. The women wore hats and gloves, and all were told not to speak unless spoken to and to keep our hands to ourselves. At each formal introduction to the Princess the women curtsied and the men bowed.

I remember hearing whisperings of Peter Townsend’s name among the other guests that day. Now I know why!

All the best,

Mary