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The BBC shared a look back at Princess Margaret as she recorded The Archers on the 37th anniversary of her cameo.
The Queen’s late sister joined the cast of British series The Archers in June 1984 and played herself as a VIP guest at a fundraising fashion show in Ambridge, the fictional town in England where the radio series takes place.
The pilot episode of The Archers aired on the Midlands Home Service on May 29, 1950 and aired nationwide on January 1, 1951.
The broadcaster, which shared a photo of Princess Margaret with a script during a recording at Kensington Palace online, said: “The Princess’ appearance cemented the reputation and position of archers in the soap opera firmament.”
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The fictional fundraiser served the NSPCC, and as president, she asked if she could join the cast after the Duke of Westminster was originally asked.
Princess Margaret set up a makeshift recording studio in the library at Kensington Palace to record her role on the show instead of going to the BBC’s recording studio in Birmingham.
The BBC’s most listened to non-news program, the show is set in the fictional county of Borsetshire.
The village in real life would be between Worcestershire and Warwickshire in the Midlands, south of Birmingham.
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According to the BBC website, “producer William Smethurst said the princess quickly mastered the microphone techniques required to make a radio play”.
She wasn’t the only real person to appear on the show as herself, and Gilbert Harding, John Peel, and Alan Titchmarsh have other guests over the years.
It was also the first time a member of the royal family had participated in a BBC drama.
Since then, members of the royal family have followed in their footsteps by appearing in popular soap operas, with Prince Charles making a guest appearance on Coronation Street in 2000.
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Last year, Princess Margaret’s closest confidante, Lady Anne Glenconner, revealed how the spirited king would silence the queen if she interrupted her during the archers.
On Lorraine, the former royal maid, 87, appeared and revealed how to calm things down with a cup of tea after the princess refused to speak to the queen while listening to Radio 4.
Lady Glenconner stated that once, while Margaret was ill, she had to resolve an argument between the two sisters with a “cup of tea” after Margaret told the Queen to be quiet.
“Princess Margaret was in bed and the queen came and I waited in the drawing room and soon heard her come downstairs.
I said “are you all right?” She said, “No it’s not, Princess Margaret listens to the archers and every time I say something she tells me to be quiet.”
“So I went and turned off the wifi and we made a cup of tea, but it all ended well.”
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