Princess Margaret's son to divorce in second royal separation in a week

The second Earl of Snowdon is set to split from his wife, the second royal divorce announcement in less than a week.

David Armstrong-Jones, son of the late Princess Margaret, is to separate from Serena Armstrong-Jones.

A spokesman for the couple said: "The Earl and Countess of Snowdon have amicably agreed that their marriage has come to an end and that they shall be divorced.

"They ask that the press respect their privacy and that of their family."The Earl is the son of Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones, the first Earl of Snowdon.

The announcement comes a week after Peter Phillips and his wife Autumn confirmed that they were going to separate.

Phillips, who is Armstrong-Jones' nephew and the Queen's grandson, had taken his wife to Balmoral last summer to tell Her Majesty of their plans to divorce.

The monarch reportedly urged Autumn not to go ahead with the split.

The Queen's feelings regarding the proposed divorce of the Snowdons are not currently known.

The couple, who have two children, Charles, 20, and Margarita, 17, spent Christmas with the Queen at Sandringham.

They were spotted walking to church on Christmas morning with other members of the royal family.

A source told The Express that the Armstrong-Jones had been having marriage difficulties for some time.

“David and Serena have agreed that their marriage has broken down, they have in effect been living separate lives for some time," they said.
“But they are determined to handle their separation in a civilised manner. There is no blame or acrimony on either side.“They have simply reached a point at which they both feel they have to move on.”

The couple wed in October 1993 at St Margaret’s Church in Westminster.

Although David was fifth in line to the throne when he was born, neither him nor his sister, Lady Sarah Chatto, have undertaken official engagements on behalf of the Queen as working members of the Royal Family.

He has instead run his own bespoke furniture-making and interior design business.

The Earl's mother Margaret, the Queen's sister, died in 2002.

He became the Second Earl of Snowdon following the death of his father the Earl of Snowdon, celebrity photographer Antony Armstrong-Jones, in 2017.