Talk:Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon

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Publications

I want to discuss doing a section for his publications. I'd do it but I am torn as to where to put it in the article. There are several, usually with the byline Antony Armstrong-Jones. Most notably, Private View: The Lively World of British Art and Snowdon: A Life in View. --Geekyroyalaficionado (talk) 23:03, 7 March 2019 (UTC)

Hi Geekyroyalaficionado, I think such a section could go in any of several places in the article, which right now is dominated by his personal life/marriage(s), titles, and issue. Since that royal marriage lasted less than two decades and his talent was more important than the marriage, I personally could see a section on his publications possibly going above that. Softlavender (talk) 08:21, 14 November 2021 (UTC)

This seems to have been added now. Softlavender (talk) 07:27, 20 May 2023 (UTC)

Quote need attribution

There is an unattributed quote in the First marriage subsection, "Most people, including the Royal Family, took his side." Boscaswell talk 20:00, 22 April 2022 (UTC)

Done. Softlavender (talk) 07:18, 20 May 2023 (UTC)

God awful piece of writing

After his divorce from Princess Margaret, Lord Snowdon married Lucy Mary Lindsay-Hogg (née Davies), the former wife of Sir Michael Edward Lindsay-Hogg, 5th Baronet, on 15 December 1978. Armstrong-Jones's youngest daughter, with Lucy Mary, is Lady Frances Armstrong-Jones, a designer and board member of the Snowdon Trust.[64] She was born on 17 July 1979 and in 2006 married Rodolphe, Edler von Hofmannsthal, great-grandson of Hugo von Hofmannsthal and Charles Paget, 6th Marquess of Anglesey and great-great-grandson of Henry Manners, 8th Duke of Rutland.[65] From 1976 until 1996, Snowdon also had a mistress, journalist Ann Hills. She died by suicide on 31 December 1996.[52] The couple separated in 2000 after the revelation that Snowdon, then aged 67, had fathered a son, Jasper William Oliver Cable-Alexander (born 30 April 1998), with Melanie Cable-Alexander, an editor at Country Life magazine.[66][67]

Can someone who knows the story well please sort out the pronouns, make some clear, understandable prose. Thank you Anna (talk) 17:59, 12 May 2023 (UTC)

I can't say I know the story well, or at all, but I separated the long clauses, clarified ambiguous sentences, and checked the citations to see who was being referred to in overlong sentences. Softlavender (talk) 04:57, 14 May 2023 (UTC)

Contracted polio

Armstrong-Jones contracted polio while on holiday at the country home of Plas Dinas in Bontnewydd, near Caernarfon, in Wales. Here are two sources: Yes, he was a 16-year old schoolboy at Eton, but he did not contract the disease at school. If he had done, that might have caused a minor scandal. I have tried to add this fact, but User:Softlavender has twice reverted this: once with the edit summary "not in citations" and then again with no edit summary. Could you please clarify exactly what the existing citations say? Thank you. 86.187.233.58 (talk) 17:05, 17 May 2023 (UTC)

References

The two existing sources are from The Telegraph. The first does not give a location; the second says "When he was 16 and at Eton, Antony Armstrong-Jones contracted polio." However the obit in The Times which is used as a citation elsewhere in the wiki article says "At the age of 16 he contracted polio while on holiday in Wales", so I will change the wording and use that as a citation. Softlavender (talk) 00:20, 18 May 2023 (UTC)

Thank you. I have added the obituary from The Guardian as, unlike the one from The Times, it does mot require a subscription to read it. I'm not sure why we can't also give the details of the family home at Plas Dinas at Bontnewydd. I think that's an interesting fact about Armstrong Jones in itself. 07:58, 18 May 2023 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.187.231.119 (talk)

The precise location, down to the putative building, of where he may have contracted polio, is trivia. However the house as an ancestral property or his father's home in Wales, could possibly be mentioned elsewhere in the Early Life section, or possibly in the section on his Marriage to Margaret, since the couple stayed there. Here are some possible sources:

• https://books.google.com/books?id=4RBE3I1w-3kC&q=%22Plas+Dinas%22+%22snowdon%22
  • (Is that true or was it only holidays?)
• https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/united-kingdom/wales/gwynedd/hotels/plas-dinas-hotel/
• https://www.walesonline.co.uk/business/commercial-property/former-mansion-princess-margaret-lord-15657657
• http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/northwestwales/hi/people_and_places/history/newsid_8428000/8428695.stm
• https://www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/real-estate/a25858332/princess-margaret-antony-armstrong-jones-country-home-for-sale/
• https://finance.yahoo.com/news/calling-royal-fans-princess-margarets-former-home-sale-145244401.html

--Softlavender (talk) 23:05, 18 May 2023 (UTC)

Not sure it's trivia. It's not trivia at Ian Dury foir example, who "contracted polio, most likely, he believed, from a swimming pool at Southend-on-Sea during the 1949 polio epidemic." I think it's likely to have been a public place like a swimming pool, not actually at Plas Dinas. But I agree about adding the family property. Thank you for finding all those sources. 86.187.225.53 (talk) 07:25, 19 May 2023 (UTC)

Plas Newydd is a Grade II listed building. Here's the listing: [1]. So it might even warrant its own article. It's not currently mentioned at Bontnewydd, Gwynedd. 86.187.224.240 (talk) 15:44, 19 May 2023 (UTC)

I think you mean "Plas Dinas". It may possibly merit a wiki article; I'm not familiar with the Wikipedia threshold of notability requirements for Grade II listed buildings. BTW, when I was searching for it in reference to Snowdon, most articles and books gave Caernarfon as the location and didn't mention Bontnewydd at all. Even that link says "Town: Caernarfon". Softlavender (talk) 23:23, 19 May 2023 (UTC)

Yes, it's Plas Dinas. If you open the link to the listing you will see a map, which is pretty self-explanatory. But yes, many articles and books will just use Caernarfon as it's much larger and more well-known. I think the article should say "... while on holiday at the ancestral family home of "Plas Dinas", near Caernarfon in Wales." As you can see Category:Grade II listed buildings in Gwynedd is already quite well populated. Even Former Vicarage, Blaenau Ffestiniog gets an article. Thanks. 86.187.173.101 (talk) 08:18, 20 May 2023 (UTC)

As I mentioned before, the specific location of this one specific holiday and the specific building where he may or may not have contracted polio, is trivia; however you are welcome to add a suitable and relevant mention of the building to the Early Life section or the Marriage to Margaret section. Softlavender (talk) 08:30, 20 May 2023 (UTC)

Well ok. I wasn't trying to pin down where he contracted polio. Nobody seem to know that. But just to make it clear that it wasn't "at Eton". I was trying rather to pin down where he was on holiday in Wales. I agree that the house itself has far more significance. 86.187.164.151 (talk) 09:35, 20 May 2023 (UTC)

Plas Dinas

I have created Draft:Plas Dinas and will add some links to start sourcing it with. Citations should not come from tourism sites. It's possible, but not at all advisable, that some citations could be notable tourism guidebooks. I probably don't have time to be involved in it, but if you need help viewing the content of paywalled sources, let me know. Also, is Plas Dinas Mawddwy the same thing? I skipped over those mentions so if it's the same place I'll have to re-search. Softlavender (talk) 08:53, 20 May 2023 (UTC)

No Plas Dinas Mawddwy is somewhere completely different, many miles away, on the other side of the Snowdonia National Park. See here. I have now copied over a small amount to Bontnewydd, Gwynedd. Thanks. 86.187.164.151 (talk) 09:38, 20 May 2023 (UTC)

I have now posted Plas Dinas live on Wikipedia, and wikilinked all mentions of it in other articles. That was fun, and turned out very well. Thanks for the prompt, and for starting the article so well and with such good citations. Softlavender (talk) 00:10, 25 May 2023 (UTC)