LONDON, Feb 9: Princess Margaret, 71, the younger sister of Queen Elizabeth II died at King Edward VII hospital, London, after suffering a stroke at 6.30am on Saturday.

Her children Lord Linley and Lady Sarah Chatto were at her side when she died.

The Royal Palace broke the news in a statement here. The Queen has returned from her Sandringham Norfolk residence to her official London residence of Buckingham Palace, where the country’s flag is flying at half-mast.

The death will cast a shadow over the Queen’s Golden Jubilee on Wednesday - Accession Day - the Queen marked the 50th anniversary of her coming to the throne.

Princess Margaret had a troubled and sad life marred by ill health. A heavy smoker for many years, she had suffered repeated respiratory illnesses and had part of a lung removed in January 1985.

She suffered at least two strokes in recent years and was last seen in public before Christmas. Lately, she was confined to a wheelchair and wore heavy dark glasses; her sight having been affected by a stroke.

Princess Margaret in her youth was noted for her glamorous looks, dress sense and busy social life. In the 1950s she wanted to marry Group Captain Peter Townsend, a divorced man, but renounced him after coming under political, family and church pressure.

She later married a photographer Anthony Armstrong-Jones. She had two children from him but the marriage ended in divorce in 1978.