Princess Margaret and her holiday break in Majorca

Princess Margaret visited Majorca in the summer of 1991, her only recorded visit to the island. Royal fever had gripped the Balearics at that time with the Prince and Princess of Wales and their two children sailing off Sardinia and the Spanish Royal Family enjoying their customary holiday at the Marivent Palace in Cala Mayor. Princess Margaret, literally, just slipped in. She arrived on the scheduled British Midland flight from Heathrow and even Palma airport staff didn't know that she was coming until she boarded the aircraft in London. It was not until she was settled in at the exclusive Anchorage Club in Illetas that the word got out that the Queen's younger sister was on the island. She was staying as a guest of leading British banker Sir Mark Weinberg. In was an exceptionally hot summer and the Princess spent much of hor holiday which started on August 11 sailing aboard the yacht Philante moored at Puerto Portals and owned by Tommy Sopwith whose grandfather designed the Sopwith Camel and later helped with the design of the revolutionary Harrier jump-jet. The Philante is still moored at Portals. Sopwith has extensive contacts with the British royal family. Eventhough it was a strictly private visit an army of photographers tried to follow the Princess' every move. But thanks to a massive security blanket photo opportunities were few and far between, mostly of the Princess embarking and disembarking from the Philante. Half way through her stay she dined at the Sa Forteza estate in Puigpunyent where Prince Charles had stayed the summer before. The Princess was left alone by photographers towards the end of her stay thanks to an unexpected development involving her newphew, Prince Charles. The Prince and Princess of Wales decided to return home from their cruise from Minorca. A BAe 146 aircraft of the Queen's Flight was stationed at Palma's airport prompting rumours that Queen Elizabeth might even join her sister in Majorca. But the aircraft soon departed for Mahon to collect Prince Charles and his family who had disembarked in Minorca at the end of their cruise. But the rumours didn't stop there. Just hours after the BAe 146 took off a helicopter landed at the Marivent Palace and one photographer claimed that he had sighted Prince Harry and Prince William.