Truth behind a royal nanny's incredible betrayal

Marion Crawford was once one of the Queen Mother's most trusted confidantes, playing a vital role in bringing up Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret. The Scottish governess, known lovingly as "Crawfie" was seen as the most loyal member of the royal family's staff. She was so beloved that she was treated like a relative; she was even gifted a rent-free home that she was allowed to keep for the rest of her life.

But everything fell apart in 1950 when Marion was kicked out of the palace, turned away from her house and snubbed by the people she was once incredibly close to.

What was her crime?

Marion was the author of the book The Little Princesses, which spilled the beans on life inside the royal family, including details about the Princesses that other employees would never dare to share publicly. She effectively became the first royal employee to trade "cash for comment".

But a British Channel Four documentary on Crawford, The Royal Nanny Who Wouldn't Stay Mum, claimed that Marion was treated incredibly harshly by the royals. In fact, it even suggested that the Queen Mother was originally supportive of Crawford telling a journalist about life within the palace.

The early days

Crawford was just 22 when she entered the royal home after she was hired by the Duchess of York (who was soon to become the Queen Mother). The fact Marion was a trained teacher worked in her favour and the Duchess' daughters, Elizabeth and Margaret, quickly warmed to their new governess.

At the time, the princess were shielded from the rest of the world and were educated at home. There was much secrecy surrounding the life of the royals and Crawford's main job was to help train the girls for their royal roles.

She apparently adored the princesses and wanted to make their lives as normal as possible, taking them on various trips to supermarkets and creating a special "Girl Guide" troop for them.

But the royal household was far from being a normal household; everything that went on behind the palace gates was almost obsessively secretive. For those working in the royal household, confidentiality was a strict, unwritten rule.

Crawford wrote in her book, "The royal discretion still held. Unpleasant or bothersome matters were never discussed."

Forbidden to marry

As the years went by, Crawford felt more and more trapped in her role as a governess. Even when she met the man she would later marry, she was forbidden to tie the knot until Elizabeth did; she was not allowed to leave the palace until the princesses were ready for her to go.

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This meant Crawford was only given permission to leave her position when, at the age of 21, Elizabeth became engaged.

The 'Ladies Home Journal' scandal

After 17 years of loyal service for the royal family, Crawford was made an officer of the Royal Victorian Order, given a generous pension and allowed to live in a cottage on the grounds of Kensington Palace, rent free. No doubt she deserved the royal family's generosity after all the sacrifices she had made for the princesses.

In 1949, US magazine Ladies' Home Journal invited Crawford to write an article about her many years of working with the royals. When she approached the Queen Mother, she agreed it would be a nice idea; but only if the article wasn't published under Crawford's name.

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The Queen Mother wrote to Crawford: "I do feel, most definitely, that you should not write and sign articles about the children, as people in positions of confidence with us must be utterly oyster. I know you understand this, because you have been so wonderfully discreet all the years you were with us."

The article was supposed to appear that it was written by a journalist, writing the stories based on the information provided by Crawford.

It's not entirely clear what happened next, but the article noted that Crawford had been the source. It also included information about the former King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson that the queen was unhappy about.

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Of course, the public devoured the article – this was the first time they'd been able to read such juicy, inside details about the royals. They were especially keen to know more about the future Queen Elizabeth.

Kicked out of the palace

Even though the Queen Mother had secretly given permission for the article to go ahead, she was absolutely mortified with the published account. To make matters worse, Crawford followed up with the publication of her book, which led to her being banished from the royal family for good.

Yet the Queen Mother's role in the publication of the Ladies Home Journal article wasn't revealed until Crawford's death in 1998. In her will, she'd stipulated that her box of royal letters from the Queen Mother, in which she agreed to the magazine article being published, be returned to the royal family. That's when the public learned that Crawford had protected her former bosses, right up until her death.

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The private papers were clear proof that the Queen Mother was deeply involved in the plan to sell stories about her daughter's childhood to the American magazine, as a publicity stunt.

After she was sent away from the palace, Crawford attempted suicide twice; such was her anguish over the harsh way the Queen Mother had treated her. The irony is that Crawford kept her silence instead of letting everyone know that the Queen Mother had fully supported the publicity in a bid to win favour with the public.

And most reviewers of The Little Princesses agreed that there was nothing inside that could be labelled as scandalous. According to one review, the book was "such sugary confection… that it seems incredible anyone could be offended."

Sadly, for Crawford, the fact that a trusted member of the royal staff had written a book about the princesses and life at the palace was seen as an unforgivable betrayal. It's not known whether any member of the family ever communicated with Crawford again. Perhaps, if it had been known back then that the Queen Mother had originally approved of Marion going public with her "insider stories", Crawford might never have been punished at all.