Roddy Llewellyn

Sir Roderic Victor Llewellyn, 5th Baronet (born 9 October 1947), is a British baronet, garden designer, journalist, author, and television presenter. He had an eight-year relationship with Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, the younger sister of Queen Elizabeth II.

Early life and education Llewellyn was born in Crickhowell, Brecknockshire, the younger son of Sir Harry Llewellyn, 3rd Bt., an Olympic gold medallist in show jumping, and his wife, Christine Saumarez (d. 1998). He was educated at Shrewsbury School and then received a National Certificate in Horticulture at Merrist Wood College. In 2009, he succeeded his elder brother, Dai, to the Llewellyn baronetcy.

Aged 7, he was sent to Hawtreys, a boarding school.

Personal life Beginning in 1973, Llewellyn, then aged 25, began an affair with Princess Margaret, then 43. They had met in Scotland at the Café Royal in Edinburgh in September 1973. Margaret's biographer Theo Aronson made this comment some years later, "He was well-mannered, well-spoken, and amusing; above all, he was very sweet-natured."

In 1976, photographs of the couple in Mustique led to a scandal. In the tabloids, he was referred to as her "toy boy". Llewellyn issued a public statement which said, "I much regret any embarrassment caused to Her Majesty the Queen and the royal family, for whom I wish to express the greatest respect, admiration and loyalty".

According to Anne Tennant, Baroness Glenconner, quoted in the 2018 documentary Elizabeth: Our Queen, the monarch discussed Llewellyn with her after Princess Margaret's funeral in 2002. She offered Lady Glenconner thanks for having introduced her sister to him because "he made her really happy".

On 11 July 1981, Llewellyn married Tatiana Soskin, a daughter of film producer Paul Soskin. The couple have three daughters.

Career

Gardening Llewellyn has said, "I have always been fascinated by plants...They give me an enormous amount of solace."

It was apparently his nanny, Rebecca Jenkins, who introduced him to gardening. When the family removed to Llanfair Grange, Llewellyn said, "we had huge lawns and wonderful views. It was pretty country...it had a big vegetable garden and fabulous trees."

Music Llewellyn released a pop music album of standards in 1978, "Roddy", but found that the news media was interested only in his personal life. The album achieved little success.

In popular culture Llewellyn is portrayed by Simon Woods in the 2005 film The Queen's Sister, and by Harry Treadaway in the Netflix series The Crown.