Lady in Waiting

Lady Glenconner has a pleasant style and has led an incredible, interesting life. Unfortunately, much of the really interesting things about that life are glossed over or merely hinted at while the tedious details of court protocol are given much more attention and detail.For instance: * A minor detail about Prince Philip being permitted to have 17 year old Lady Glenconner and her 15 year old sister dress as maids to perform as photo models for himself. He claimed to be working on a game inspired by Battleship. Really. Battleship does not involve photos of any kind. These were very pretty blond aristocratic teens.* Compare that entry with the pages and pages on how to hold the queen's train for Coronation.*That's when I started to think that Harry has been trying to communicate with a public that has not been allowed to see the full picture.Reflecting further on the game of smoke and mirrors played by the British Royal Family I can absolutely believe everything Harry wrote about them in Spare.Lovely as she seems, and she's elderly so literally from another century, Lady Glenconner strikes me as the exact embodiment of the "sources" quoted constantly in the media who claim that everyone is appalled and hate Meghan.So. I enjoyed her book despite it being a little boring and I learned a lot

Very inside view of some parts of a royal life. Interesting personalities, for sure.

Wish more women would write biographies sharing thoughts about life. I thoroughly enjoyed her insights about her life, family, and friends. A great lady and a great read.

I couldn’t put it down, and if you enjoy the history of the Royal Family, you’ll love this! It dives into the Royal Family while keeping it focused on the life of a woman serving the family and what trials and tribulations her life had.

I'm usually not one for autobiographies or memoirs. They usually come off as insincere, guarded, and agenda driven. In Lady in Waiting: My Extraordinary Life in the Shadow of the Crown Anne Glenconner is forthright, transparent, and humble. She tells the story of being royalty-light in the Queen Elizabeth II Era. Growing up with then-children Queen Elizabeth and Princess Margaret as frequent guests in her parents home, playing games with them, running about the garden, she became life-long friends with the royals and a trusted confidant. Balancing her role as Lady in Waiting for Princess Margaret with a turbulent marriage and five children, Lady Glenconner was distinguished, kind, and strong. The book is really very interesting, even if the reader is only mildly interested in British Royalty. Just learning about the lifestyles of titled gentry is amazing. The juxtaposition of the public and private life was eye opening. I really enjoyed it. Toward the end it drops into blah-blah-blah of names of friends and the life of a socialite. Boring. But she brings it all back around and ends well. The photos at the end of the book are a nice bonus.

The things Ms Glenconnor encountered and survived was truly remarkable… Very interesting read, hard to put down. It was very interesting.

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 Elizabeth’s 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 1970’s, Anne was made Princess Margaret’s Lady in Waiting. She loved Margaret, and even though Margaret had her down days, Anne was certainly used to that kind of behavior. Anne’s 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 Margaret’s 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 Anne’s 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

Lo termine al poco tiempo de recibirlo, una lectura bastante entretenida con notas y detalles que jamás me hubiera imaginado.Es definitivamente para personas con mente abierta.

Muito bem redigido e interessante

Well written book. Lovely stories. Great book to take my mind away from the daily pressures. Highly recommend if you are curious about what some of the royal members were like.

Although the subject matter is of interest to me the book doesn’t hold my attention. It’s definitely more about the author than life with the crown.

I absolutely loved reading this book. Very well written and very interesting.Also very sad.Would love to meet the author ,thank you.