Lady in Waiting

The Crown, is a Netflix television series, about Queen Elizabeth and her reign, that most of us enjoy. Lady Anne Glenconner, the author, was asked to assist several of the stars as they played the parts of Princess Margaret and her Lady In Waiting. She loved every minute of it.

Living life in a great manor, the Holkham Hall, with servants and some wealth was not the best of times. Father, Earl of Leicester and a mother who showed little emotion, except keep a stiff upper lip to see you through the bad times, and the good times if there were any. Veronica Coke, now known as Lady Anne Glenconner, tells us the story of her life, and quite a story it is.

As a child her hands were tied to the head of the bedstead at night by her nanny. Her parents did not know since they were seldom around. Somehow she managed to grow up with the British reserve, but also with naivitivity In life.

Anne and Princess Margaret had been childhood friends, and as young women they took up their friendship again. Anne was one of Queen Elizabeths six Maids of Honor at her coronation, which was the thrill of a lifetime As a young woman,Anne fell in love with a young man who broke their engagement to run off with another woman. That man turned out to be the father of Diana, Princess of Wales. Broken hearted she instead married an older man, full of eccentricities, Colin Tennant, who eventually became Lord Glenconner. He was a millionaire with a castle in Scotland, and all to the good. Anne thought him very handsome and endearing. His kind of behaviors would be enough to turn off most of us today, but Anne grinned as she was taught.

In the 1970s, Anne was made Princess Margarets Lady in Waiting. She loved Margaret, and even though Margaret had her down days, Anne was certainly used to that kind of behavior. Annes husband gave Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones a piece of land in Mustique where she built a villa, Les Jolies Eaux. Anne was Lady in Waiting for Margaret for thirty years. These years are the best part of the book, funny and sad, but with good insight into the life of this royal. Her chapter of the last months of Princess Margarets life is extremely well written and poignant.

Anne and her husband went on to have five children, three of whom had terrible deaths, and how Anne was able to carry on is questionable. Certainly there were good times and many humorous moments that Anne writes about, but the miseries seem to be major. Anne shows some insight into her life, and her time with her children are her joy. The real shock is that Annes husband died and left his estate to someone else. Her entire life was gone, practically penniless what was she to do? She rose to the occasion, as always.

Recommended. prisrob 03-25-2020

Boy, times have changed since Marion Crawford wrote her memoir and got shunned by the Royal Family, huh? It seems like we’ve had several royal memoirs recently. This book came on the heels of The Other Side of the Coin by Angela Kelly, and frankly it was far more entertaining. That said, I really waffled over what to rate this book. I finally settled on three stars because while I did enjoy and finish it, there we’re two significant aspects I strongly disliked.

The first was that the book is billed as being about Glenconner’s relationship with Princess Margaret, but in reality said relationship is perhaps 50% of the book. The rest is about her life, and while it was generally interesting, if you’re looking for details about Princess Margaret, this may not be the best volume for you.

The second was my annoyance with how she wrote about Colin. Yes, this is a memoir and subject to personal feelings. Yes, Glenconner is a product of her time. Yes, I get it. But I still couldn’t stand any page Colin was on. The man was a man-child. He would literally roll around on the floor while screaming, and he even bit a man at one point. But Glenconner just brushes past this (“difficult”) and defends his asshattery by claiming that he really could be a very nice man, too. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying she shouldn’t have included this information in the story of her life, but her attitude about it was off-putting and unpleasant. It soured the reading experience in many places.

However, for all this, she wrote poignantly about her family life, and I was moved by the descriptions of her sons and their mishaps/tragedies. Anne suffered, and her suffering was evident throughout.

I have had this book preordered since November 2019. So, imagine my surprise and joy when I was given a digital copy in exchange for my honest review.
This is the memoir of Lady Glenconner who served as lady-in-waiting to Princess Margaret. She grew up near the royal family her entire life as most of her family had served the royal family in similar capacities. The story starts with Helen Bonham Carter meeting Lady Glenconner for tea to speak about Princess Margaret and her upcoming role in The Crown. This lovely book reads as if you too are enjoying tea with Lady Glenconner as she tells you about her life. History is often dry but this is anything but that. I love the small bits of information that sticks with you and makes you feel as if you were there: silver shoes, felt skirts, and the island of Mustique.
I really enjoyed it and I highly recommend this book. If you love The Crown as much as I do, then you will love this book. Come for the historical content, stay for the authors wit and humor. The authors voice is unique, and I am not sure I could do it justice by giving you a list of similar books. Its a memoir but unlike any that I have read.

I saw this Lady Anne on a clip from a British talk show. She was so charming and funny that I looked her up online and decided to pre-order her book. I loved the book–a real distraction especially now. I recommend this book if you want a good read.

This is an extraordinary book about an extraordinary lady! I loved it! It has got everything one might encounter in life, from the extreme pathos of the fate of her three oldest children (I encounter her son Christopher, from time to time, in the fabulous settings of the Palladian delight that is Holkham Hall – what a lovely, brave man to have emerged from his tragic accident in Central America!), to the extreme hedonism of her and her husbands (the mercurial Colin) lives in Mustique and St Lucia, and, of course, the circuit of the rich and famous. What I thought was particulate fascinating was Lady Annes lasting relationship with the Royals , and particularly Princess Margaret. I think you certainly see Princess Margaret in a different light. Fascinating! And what endurance and Stoicism Lady Anne demonstrated throughout her long life! It is certainly a life much removed from we ordinary mortals! Well done!

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