Besieged — but Townsend gives an audience to the Mail
GROUP CAPTAIN PETER TOWNSEND tonight received me at Eridge Castle, Sussex, and vowed never to speak about his romance with Princess Margaret — whatever the future throws at him.
He intends to return to Brussels to continue his duties as Air Attache at the British Embassy.
Group Captain Townsend had gone to Eridge Castle, the home of his friend the Marquess of Abergavenny, pursued by a clamour of reporters, from nearby Uckfield House, where he is staying as the guest of Lord Rupert Nevill.
I rang the front bell and sent in my name. Minutes passed. Then Group Captain Townsend opened the door.
‘Hello,’ he said. ‘How are you getting on?’ I said: ‘We are all very sorry, sir.’
He waved a hand: ‘Now please don’t talk about that. You know I can say nothing about that matter.’ For 15 minutes, in the entrance hall of Eridge Castle, he talked of his hopes and plans. The man who chatted with me was a man at peace with himself.
He looked ten years younger. His eyes sparkled and he bounced lightly on his feet as we talked. I can say that Group Captain Townsend will never accept any of the big offers made from America for his life story.
His lips will remain sealed for ever. He may apply for a diplomatic post away from Europe, possibly in Australia.
He was pale and his cheeks were rather gaunt. But he laughed at reports he was in ‘no fit state to see anyone’. ‘Look at me,’ he said gaily. ‘Do I look ill?’
Then he glanced wryly out at the darkening sky. ‘No, wait a minute, it’s too dark for you to see me, anyway. But if you could you would see I looked all right.’
And so I left Group Captain Townsend, a slim, smiling figure in green sports jacket and slacks, waving happily from the brightly lit doorway of the castle.