Famous personalities are often known to deal with invasions of privacy, but a few Italian journalists took it too far after they broke into the late Princess Margaret’s hotel room, according to a documentary.

Beatrice Behlen, a royal expert, said the Queen’s younger sister was “absolutely hounded” during a trip to Italy in May 1949.

Margaret, who was only 18 at the time, quickly rose to fame and had become an “icon” around the world, which led to being photographed everywhere she went.

Behlen, who spoke on the BBC documentary Princess Margaret: The Rebel Royal, said that “she went to Italy, and people are just totally hounding her.

“They actually broke into her hotel room to find out what nail varnish she was wearing, and that was reported in the press.”

An issue of LIFE Magazine from 1949 recounts how “an Italian newspaper woman had managed to slip into the Princess’ hotel suite,” Hello! reports.

It further explains that “she discovered that she was reading a book called Busman’s Honeymoon, using Tweed perfume and Peggy Sage nail polish.”

Founded in the US in 1925, Peggy Sage is a cosmetic brand that is still on the market with its large range of nail varnishes.

But while the brand of Princess Margaret’s nail polish was released by the press, avid fans are yet to know what colour she wore.

The Tweed perfume that Margaret regularly wore was created by Lentheric in 1924 and is described as a “sensuous woody floral fragrance.”

Behlen said that the Queen’s younger sister was not expecting the amount of attention she received during her trip to Italy.

“[It] wasn’t expected. In England, the press was actually a lot more reverent.

“I think it was a bit of a shock,” she said.

Margaret visited Rome, Venice, Florence and the island of Capri during her trip to Italy in 1949, as well as Stresa, in the north of the country.

She later enjoyed a five-day visit to Paris, where she met fashion designer Christian Dior.