Discover untold secrets with this extraordinary memoir of drama and tragedy by Anne Glenconner–a close member of the royal circle and lady-in-waiting to Princess Margaret. Anne Glenconner has been at the center of the royal circle from childhood, when she met and befriended the future Queen Elizabeth II and her sister, the Princess Margaret. Though the firstborn child of the 5th Earl of … firstborn child of the 5th Earl of Leicester, who controlled one of the largest estates in England, as a daughter she was deemed “the greatest disappointment” and unable to inherit. Since then she has needed all her resilience to survive court life with her sense of humor intact.
A unique witness to landmark moments in royal history, Maid of Honor at Queen Elizabeth’s coronation, and a lady in waiting to Princess Margaret until her death in 2002, Anne’s life has encompassed extraordinary drama and tragedy. In Lady in Waiting, she will share many intimate royal stories from her time as Princess Margaret’s closest confidante as well as her own battle for survival: her broken-off first engagement on the basis of her “mad blood”; her 54-year marriage to the volatile, unfaithful Colin Tennant, Lord Glenconner, who left his fortune to a former servant; the death in adulthood of two of her sons; a third son she nursed back from a six-month coma following a horrific motorcycle accident. Through it all, Anne has carried on, traveling the world with the royal family, including visiting the White House, and developing the Caribbean island of Mustique as a safe harbor for the rich and famous-hosting Mick Jagger, David Bowie, Raquel Welch, and many other politicians, aristocrats, and celebrities.
With unprecedented insight into the royal family, Lady in Waiting is a witty, candid, dramatic, at times heart-breaking personal story capturing life in a golden cage for a woman with no inheritance.
New York Times Bestseller
USA Today Bestseller
The Sunday Times Bestseller
The Globe and Mail Bestseller
ABA Indie Bestseller
The Times (UK) Memoir of the Year
One of Newsweek’s Most Anticipated Books of 2020
I love reading autobiographies. I think a person’s life story comes into much clearer focus when it’s told in their own words. Anne Glenconnor is a fine writer and a wonderful storyteller. She’s a woman who persevered through numerous trials in an always interesting life. I’m glad she shared it with us.
The author was the first born daughter of Elizabeth, described as a very capable woman, and the 5th earl of Leicester. The earl’s three daughters, would never inherit Holkham – the 5th largest estate in England.
The family opened a pottery on the estate to help with it’s upkeep, and Anne became a travelling salesman for their wares, It was on a sales trip to the United States that she received a telegram advising her that she was to become a Maid of Honour at the Queen’s Coronation.
Anne married Colin Tennant, who had legendary temper tantrums that defy belief. They became parents to five children – Charlie, who died of Hepatitis C after recovering from a heroin addiction, Henry, who died of AIDs at a time when there was little understanding of the disease and prejudices were rampant, Christopher who suffered a near fatal head injury that placed him in a coma for four months, plus twin girls Amy and May.
In the early years of their marriage the children were often left in the care of nannies or governesses, as Anne and Colin enjoyed numerous social engagements and weekends away with friends.
The author’s most high profile friendship was with Princess Margaret which lasted until Margaret’s death in 2002.
In 1958, Colin bought the island of Mustique for £45,000. There was no running water nor electricity supply, but he was determined to create a legendary bolt hole for the rich and famous. During the 70’s and 80’s Mustique attracted a number of high profile celebrities, and provided Princess Margaret with a holiday home that allowed her privacy and a chance to unwind.
Colin moved to St Lucia in 1987, and when he died, left everything to an employee.
“Lady in Waiting” provides a rare insight into a life full of both privilege and challenges of the heart, but the author never dwells on the negatives, inheriting her mother’s capabilities and preferring to maintain a positive outlook.
I was both shocked and intrigued by her life story, which provides very compulsive reading.
Just mind blowing how the British aristocracy conduct themselves. A really easy read and open and honest.
After finishing this remarkable memoir of Anne Glenconner, I know I would like to spend time chatting with her over a pot of tea and cookies. Having lived such a full, rich and extraordinary life, she has found a comfortable and peaceful life at 87 years old. She relates the very good all the way to the very bad that made up the tapestry of her life. Raised in the titled world of the British aristocracy in a wonderful stately home during WWII, she had the title and the nanny and the connections but money during the war was tight and rationing governed just about everything. She learned how to adapt – like her green parachute dress. That served her well throughout her life – she knew hard work, too.
The first half of the book is her life which included Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret. Anne’s mother was Lady of the Bedchamber and Anne became a Lady in waiting to Princess Margaret. The glimpses she shows us of the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth are wonderful.
All was not a bed of roses for Anne nor Princess Margaret. Both married men who treated them badly and that was another tie that bound them together. Anne had married a man who could be a charmer one moment and the next he could explode in a screaming tantrum. All in public. She was mother to five children – six if you count her erratic husband. She held it all together.
The times were changing when Anne was born. The days of women being in the shadows of their fathers and husbands were giving way to the Swinging 60’s and the turbulent 70’s. Her family was not immune to the tragedies of drugs and she saw it first hand. She faced painful challenges with her sons but, with the help of Princess Margaret and their large circle of friends and family, Anne weathered it all and has come to a place in her life that most of us would want for ourselves. A life full of the love and friendship from family and friends. I hope she write more about her life because I suspect that her life isn’t at all dull at 87. Two things that will stay with me – her stories of visiting Paris (can be a very strange place to visit) and never travel without a bottle of gin.
Lady in Waiting by Anne Glenconner is an excellent memoir that gives the reader a glimpse into an extraordinary life.
I love anything and everything associated with England’s Royalty, and this did not disappoint. This isn’t just a book about being a Lady in Waiting to Princess Margaret, although a good bit of it is, it is also a book about a fascinating, strong, classy, intelligent, multi-talented, realistic, and imperfect woman. Anne admits her few faults, not being as hands-on of a mother to her two oldest boys as she ended up being with her three youngest, and the reader loves her even more for her admissions.
I loved reading about British aristocracy and her childhood, her turbulent marriage to an intelligent and talented, but yet eccentric and difficult man, and I was impressed at her ability to conquer the instability and find happiness amongst the chaos.
I loved reading about her travels, her friends, family, and adventures. She was able to always create a literary version of a snapshot to make me feel as if I was with her the whole time. I loved how she was able to come into her own and settle in her little piece of paradise in her home in Norfolk amongst her kids and family.
And of course, I loved to read about her decades-long friendship, connection, and working relationship with Princess Margaret. I truly feel it gave the reader another glimpse into the many positive attributes of the amazing woman Princess Margaret was in her own right. It was downright fascinating.
It was heartbreaking to read of her tragedies and her losses. No mother should ever have to go through what she did with her 3 sons. It just showed me her inner strength and determination to make the best out of everything and to come out into the sunlight at the end.
I hope she writes a second book to give us an update and further stories of the many years she has yet still to come.
5/5 stars. I loved every minute of this book.
This autobiography is the story of Princess Margaret’s lady in waiting, but delves into the woman’s life from childhood to her current age of nearly 90. Her life had many ups and downs but she deals with everything in true British fashion with a stiff upper lip. I listened to the audiobook
In a sense, this could be the story of Mary Crawley (from Downton) if she didn’t have a relative to marry. Because her family estate is entailed to the male line and the family had no private money, Anne had to “marry well.” While the book title focuses on her various interactions with the royals, more interesting is her life in general. Like many adults, she struggles with a highly erratic husband and children with a lot of difficulties. It’s a peek into aristocratic life and all the difficulties. Very readable, especially if you’ve visited Great Britain much and seen the stately homes.