Royal Retreat Once Owned by Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon Listed for $5.3 Million

The Old House, a centuries-old country property in West Sussex that served as Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon’s private retreat, has entered the market for $5.3 million through Blue Book Agency. The listing marks the first time the home has been publicly offered for sale, though it was sold privately in 2003 and purchased off-market in 2005 by the current owners.

Lord Snowdon, born Antony Armstrong-Jones, received the 5,750-square-foot estate on 5.52 acres as a wedding gift from his uncle, designer Oliver Messel, before his marriage to Princess Margaret. Originally constructed in 1481, the property had belonged to the Messel family since 1890 and passed through generations before the gift. Upon taking ownership, Lord Snowdon extensively renovated the dilapidated structure into an elegant private sanctuary.

The transformed residence became a celebrated gathering place where members of the royal family mingled with prominent artists, actors and cultural figures of the 20th century. Notable guests included actor Peter Sellers, ballerina Dame Margot Fonteyn, Bianca Jagger and financier Sir Evelyn de Rothschild. Lord Snowdon’s renovations incorporated distinctive features such as a redesigned kitchen, a balcony salvaged from Ascot Racecourse’s Royal Box, and a lake he created on the grounds.

The estate includes a main residence with six bedrooms, a pool house functioning as guest quarters, a garden office, library and tractor shed. Lord Snowdon assembled a personal “time capsule” of newspaper clippings documenting royal scandals and major historical events throughout the residence. The home’s cultural significance inspired an episode in season three of Netflix’s “The Crown” series.

Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon met in 1958 and married in May 1960 at Westminster Abbey in the first televised royal wedding, attracting approximately 300 million viewers worldwide. The couple had two children: David Armstrong-Jones, born in November 1961, and Lady Sarah Chatto, born in May 1964. After 16 years of marriage, they separated in March 1976 and divorced in July 1978 but remained friendly afterward.

Lord Snowdon subsequently married Lucy Lindsay-Hogg in 1978, while Princess Margaret never remarried. Princess Margaret passed away in February 2002 at age 71 following a stroke after her health deteriorated during the 1990s. Lord Snowdon died in January 2017 at age 86.