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Lady in Waiting

On sale

17th October 2019

Price: £19.99

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Selected: Audiobook Downloadable / ISBN-13: 9781529359091

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The remarkable life of Lady in Waiting to Princess Margaret who was also a Maid of Honour at the Queen’s Coronation – and is a character in The Crown this autumn. Anne Glenconner reveals the real events behind The Crown as well as her own life of drama, tragedy and courage, with the wonderful wit and extraordinary resilience which define her.

Anne Glenconner has been close to the Royal Family since childhood. Eldest child of the 5th Earl of Leicester, she was, as a daughter, described as ‘the greatest disappointment’ by her family as she was unable to inherit. Her childhood home Holkham Hall is one of the grandest estates in England. Bordering Sandringham the Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret were frequent playmates.

From Maid of Honour at the Queen’s Coronation to Lady in Waiting to Princess Margaret, Lady Glenconner is a unique witness to royal history, as well as an extraordinary survivor of a generation of aristocratic women trapped without inheritance and burdened with social expectations.

She married the charismatic but highly volatile Colin Tennant, Lord Glenconner, who became the owner of Mustique. Together they turned the island into a paradise for the rich and famous, including Mick Jagger and David Bowie, and it became a favourite retreat for Princess Margaret.

But beneath the glitz and glamour there has also lurked tragedy. On Lord Glenconner’s death in 2010 he left his fortune to a former employee. And of their five children, two grown-up sons died, while a third son had to be nursed back from a coma by Anne, after having suffered a near fatal accident.

Anne Glenconner writes with extraordinary wit, generosity and courage and she exposes what life was like in her gilded cage, revealing the role of her great friendship with Princess Margaret, and the freedom she can now finally enjoy in later life. She will appear as a character in the new series of The Crown this autumn.

(P) 2019 Hodder & Stoughton Ltd

Reviews

India Knight, The Sunday Times Magazine
'[An] astounding memoir'
The Sunday Times
'A remarkable life, remarkably told'
The Times T2
'A romp of an autobiography'
Sophie Money-Coutts, Sunday Telegraph
'Beyond admirable'
Catherine Bennett, Observer
'Captivating'
Spectator
'Fascinating and beautifully written . . . I can't recommend [Glenconner's] book high enough'
Rupert Everett
'I couldn't put it down. Funny and touching - like looking through a keyhole at a lost world'
Jan Moir, Daily Mail
'Marvellous book . . . one's eyes were on stalks'
Allison Pearson, Sunday Telegraph
'One of the most enjoyable books of 2019 . . . Anne Glenconner, now 87, captures a lost world in which she waited (with remarkable good grace) on Princess Margaret. Sometimes the best view of history is given by the minor characters'
The Sunday Times
'Remarkable . . . If your jaw doesn't drop at least three times every chapter, you've not been paying proper attention'
Craig Brown, Mail on Sunday
'Riveting life'
Sydney Morning Herald
'Rollicking . . . [Lady in Waiting] paints such a rich picture of the aristocracy it's impossible not to marvel at the institution, both in admiration and horror'
Janice Turner, The Times
'Wonderful'
Fearne Cotton
'Lady in Waiting has made me laugh and cry several times. I raced through it in 4 days. Book heaven'
Miranda Seymour, Financial Times
'A candid, witty and stylish memoir'
The Critic
'A riotous social document and a beautifully written account of a vivid life superbly lived'
Daily Express
'A startling, rare, beguiling insight into a lost world of royalty and celebrity with as many tears as there are titles'
The Times
'A funny, sometimes tragic and disarmingly frank memoir . . . Lady in Waiting is gentle, wise, unpretentious, but above all inspiring'
The Times
'An absolute hoot'
Hugo Vickers
'Anne Glenconner has written a remarkable memoir - containing, at last, a genuine portrait of Princess Margaret from one who knew her well. But this book is poignant too, and through the pages shine her courage and good-humoured acceptance of her demons and tragedies'
Kathryn Hughes, Guardian
'Discretion and honour emerge as the hallmarks of Glenconner's career as a royal servant, culminating in this book which manages to be both candid and kind.'
Janet Street-Porter
'It's a total hoot - I couldn't put it down'
Rachel Cooke, Observer
'It's impossible not to admire her fortitude . . . funny and sometimes dazzling'
Tina Brown
'Lady Glenconner's life story is a combination of royal magic, personal tragedy and resilient survival. With humour, courage and preternatural poise, she at last tells the story of her uniquely fascinating life'
Bella Mackie
'Such a moving book'
Julian Glover, Evening Standard
'The insider memoir of the year'
Financial Times
'The author reads her own words in indomitable fashion, and anyone who enjoyed Craig Brown's life of Glenconner's former employer, Ma'am Darling, will find this fascinating.'
Sunday Post
'This riveting read will leave you open-mouthed and hungry for more.'
Ysenda Maxtone Graham, Daily Mail
'This memoir made me laugh, wince, cry and gasp. For anyone who craves a bracing dose of the older generation's stiff upper lip, Anne Glenconner provides it.'
Metro
'This outlandish memoir drips with royal tidbits . . . but it's also insightful on the more damaging aspects of being a member of the British aristocracy. Sobering - and terrific fun'
The i
'This year's Ma'am Darling - the perfect book to curl up on the sofa with.'