The late Princess Margaret’s daughter, Lady Sarah Chatto, née Armstrong-Jones, lives in west London with her husband Daniel Chatto.
In 2016, the couple penned a letter to Kensington and Chelsea council asking officials to deny permission for a “poorly conceived” and “highly dangerous” project beneath their South Kensington terrace.
Sarah and Daniel’s neighbours were attempting to build an “alarming” basement extension under their Grade II listed Georgian home.
It is uncommon for members of the Royal Family to participate in planning issues. An uproar was caused when King Charles once lobbied against a contemporary rebuilding of the Chelsea Barracks site.
The Chattos warned the project could cause nearby buildings to sink, raise the possibility of flooding, and result in huge lorries roaring up and down the calm street.
Sarah and Daniel said: “The noise, mess and dust generated by… these proposals, scheduled to last for a year, will be excessive compared with the benefit for the applicant.”
They added: “We note the space is to be used as ‘his and hers’ storage for clothes and really object to the distress envisaged for such a result.”
The late Princess Margaret’s daughter worried that the terrace’s historical significance would be diminished by her neighbour’s proposals.
The statement continued: “This application is requesting the construction of a basement beneath an existing basement… This will certainly change the character of the property.”
The plans, which also included the additional wardrobes and a gym and utility room, were opposed by a total of 17 neighbours, including Stourbridge MP Margot James and her husband Jay Hunt.
In 2016, it became public knowledge that Kensington and Chelsea had rejected the proposals.
Graham Stallwood, the executive director of planning, concurred with concerned locals that the construction might potentially jeopardise the building’s structural stability.
Lady Sarah was a favourite of her late aunt, Queen Elizabeth II, and had a close relationship with her cousin King Charles as a child.
She is the godmother of Lady Louise Windsor and Prince Harry, two of the late Queen’s grandchildren.
The majority of Sarah and her brother David’s youth was spent at Kensington Palace, when David was titled Viscount Linley.
As is traditional in the Royal Family, they had a nanny, but their parents were claimed to have been a significant influence in their lives.
Lady Sarah and her brother, the current 2nd Earl of Snowdon, both went on to become artists and furniture makers thanks to the encouragement of their father Antony, a bohemian social photographer.
