Documents on Princess Margaret released

LONDON, Jan. 3 (UPI) -- Britain's Princess Margaret would have kept her royal title had she married divorcee Peter Townsend, according to government documents.

Documents dating back to the 1950s show Margaret would not have been cut adrift from her family or lost her then Civil List allowance of $10,000 had she married her great love Townsend, Sky News reported Saturday.

The documents also said then Prime Minister Sir Anthony Eden was prepared to scrap the law requiring members of the Royal Family to seek the consent of the monarch -- Queen Elizabeth II -- to marry.

Under the Royal Marriages Act of 1772, the princess required her sister's permission to marry before 25. Since she was older she needed approval from Parliament it wouldn't give.

Margaret's romance with Townsend, 18 years her senior, caused a sensation at the time. In 1955 she announced she would not wed the captain in the Royal Air Force who was divorced with two children.