Editing John Turner (section)

===Relationship with Princess Margaret===
On July 25, 1958, a ball was hosted by Turner's mother and stepfather (in the latter's role of Lieutenant Governor of  British Columbia), in honour of Princess Margaret at [[HMCS Discovery]], the Canadian navy's land station in [[Vancouver]]. Turner danced with [[Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon|Princess Margaret]],<ref>{{Cite news|agency=[[Associated Press]]|date=September 20, 2020|title=John Turner, former Canadian prime minister and friend of Princess Margaret, dies at 91|language=en-GB|work=[[The Guardian]]|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/20/john-turner-former-canadian-prime-minister-and-friend-of-princess-margaret-dies-at-91|url-status=live|access-date=September 21, 2020|issn=0261-3077|archive-date=September 20, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200920191331/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/20/john-turner-former-canadian-prime-minister-and-friend-of-princess-margaret-dies-at-91}}</ref> one year his junior, and they sat out talking, refusing requests to return to supper. This was the first time that Turner received significant press attention in Canada. Further meetings between them during Margaret's three week official visit to Canada led to considerable speculation about whether the two would become a serious couple. Contemporary press reports suggested there was some consternation about the reports among British officials, but their Canadian counterparts were more relaxed.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WDNgAAAAIBAJ&dq=hmcs+discovery+%22princess+margaret%22+frank+ross&pg=PA6&article_id=7139,676336 |title=Saskatoon Star-Phoenix |publisher=Saskatoon Star-Phoenix |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/archives/categories/politics/prime-ministers/the-long-run-the-political-rise-of-john-turner/destiny-and-determination-to-lead.html|title=Destiny and determination to lead|date=June 16, 1984|publisher=[[CBC Television]]|access-date=May 1, 2008|archive-date=March 25, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130325151035/http://www.cbc.ca/archives/categories/politics/prime-ministers/the-long-run-the-political-rise-of-john-turner/destiny-and-determination-to-lead.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=StarDelacourt>{{citation| url=https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/1193874--when-the-queen-is-your-boss| last=Delacourt| first=Susan| title=When the Queen is your boss| date=May 25, 2012| newspaper=Toronto Star| access-date=May 27, 2012| archive-date=March 7, 2013| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130307084753/http://www.thestar.com/news/world/royals/2012/05/25/when_the_queen_is_your_boss.html| url-status=live}}</ref>

A year later, in September 1959, press attention returned when reports circulated that Turner had been a recent guest at Balmoral in August where discussions had taken place concerning marriage between the pair; that he had also paid a secret visit to see her in April and that his parents had commented on their close friendship during their visit to Scotland in August.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tgEdAAAAIBAJ&dq=%22john+turner%22+princess+parents+ignore&pg=PA30&article_id=7204,1633871 |title=Sarasota Journal |publisher=Sarasota Journal |language=en}}</ref>

According to letters discovered in 2015, written by Margaret to her friend Sharman Douglas and obtained by the ''[[Daily Mail]]'', the relationship was more serious than previously thought with the princess writing in one letter, seven years later: "John Turner is here & we meet on Thursday. It will seem so funny as we haven't met since I nearly married him & he's bringing his wife!". Turner told the ''Daily Mail'': "I have never talked about it, and I am not going to start talking about it now".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Monday's Editorials: Ex-PM won't kiss and tell about his old friend Princess Margaret |url=https://edmontonjournal.com/opinion/editorials/mondays-editorials-ex-pm-wont-kiss-and-tell-about-his-old-friend-princess-margaret |access-date=2023-04-01 |website=edmontonjournal |language=en-CA}}</ref> Brenda confirmed a "very definite attraction" between her brother and the princess, but said that Turner was uninterested in royalty and would not have given up Catholicism.{{r|brewster}}

It has been claimed Turner attended Margaret's party at [[Balmoral Castle]] in August 1959 where his roommate was Margaret's future husband [[Antony Armstrong-Jones]];{{r|brewster}} however, according to his authorized biography, Armstrong-Jones visited Balmoral for the first time in early October 1959.<ref>{{Cite book |last=De Courcy |first=Anne |title=Snowdon The Biography |publisher=Phoenix |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-2978-5604-7 |location=London |pages=88 |language=English}}</ref> Turner was the only Canadian unofficial guest at [[Wedding of Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones|their wedding in May 1960]]. Turner remained friends with Margaret, he and his wife often meeting the princess in Britain or during official visits to Canada. They attended Margaret's 2002 private funeral and were Canada's official representatives at the memorial service.<ref name="brewster">{{Cite web |last=Brewster |first=Hugh |title=Princess and the PM |url=http://www.hughbrewster.com/princess-and-the-pm.html |access-date=2020-11-07 |website=Hugh Brewster |language=en |archive-date=November 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201129052348/http://www.hughbrewster.com/princess-and-the-pm.html |url-status=live }}</ref>