About the Author

Lady Glenconner was born Lady Anne Coke in 1932, the eldest daughter of the 5th Earl of Leicester, and growing up in their ancestral estate at Holkham Hall in Norfolk. A Maid of Honour at the Queen's Coronation, she married Lord Glenconner in 1956. They had 5 children together of whom 3 survive. In 1958 she and her husband began to transform the island of Mustique into a paradise for the rich and famous. They granted a plot of land to Princess Margaret who built her favourite home there. She was appointed Lady in Waiting to Princess Margaret in 1971 and kept this role - accompanying her on many state occasions and foreign tours - until her death in 2002. Lord Glenconner died in 2010, leaving everything in his will to his former employee. She now lives in a farmhouse near Kings Lynn in Norfolk.

Reviews

'A remarkable life, remarkably told'
*The Sunday Times*

'A funny, sometimes tragic and disarmingly frank memoir . . . Lady in Waiting is gentle, wise, unpretentious, but above all inspiring'
*The Times*

'A candid, witty and stylish memoir'
*Financial Times*

'The insider memoir of the year'
*Evening Standard*

'A startling, rare, beguiling insight into a lost world of royalty and celebrity with as many tears as there are titles'
*Daily Express*

'Marvellous book . . . one's eyes were on stalks'
*Daily Mail*

'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.'
*Guardian*

'[An] astounding memoir'
*The Sunday Times Magazine*

'Remarkable . . . If your jaw doesn't drop at least three times every chapter, you've not been paying proper attention'
*The Sunday Times*

'It's a total hoot - I couldn't put it down'

'A romp of an autobiography'
*The Times T2*

'I couldn't put it down. Funny and touching - like looking through a keyhole at a lost world'

'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'

'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'

'An absolute hoot'
*The Times*

'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.'
*Daily Mail*

'Wonderful'
*The Times*

'It's impossible not to admire her fortitude . . . funny and sometimes dazzling'
*Observer*

'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'
*Sydney Morning Herald*

'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'
*Metro*

'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'
*Sunday Telegraph*

'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.'
*Financial Times*

'This year's Ma'am Darling - the perfect book to curl up on the sofa with.'
*The i*

'This riveting read will leave you open-mouthed and hungry for more.'
*Sunday Post*

'Fascinating and beautifully written . . . I can't recommend [Glenconner's] book high enough'
*Spectator*

'Captivating'
*Observer*

'Beyond admirable'
*Sunday Telegraph*

'Riveting life'
*Mail on Sunday*

'Lady in Waiting has made me laugh and cry several times. I raced through it in 4 days. Book heaven'

'Such a moving book'

'A riotous social document and a beautifully written account of a vivid life superbly lived'
*The Critic*