Yes I agree puzzled. It was different times, and she would've had to give up her status, her royal position etc. She chose not to.
And yes it did end up as the love story that never was, which I think shaped her for the rest of her life.
We may think H&M is the real big scandal, but I remember those times after she met Roddy, before she was divorced, and it was always 'oh heck, what is she going to do next....'
The Queen can't say she isn't used to a bit of scandal in the family...