Lady in Waiting

My Extraordinary Life in the Shadow of the Crown

By: Anne Glenconner

Narrated by: Anne Glenconner

Length: 9 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

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 fifth 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 best seller

USA Today best seller

The Sunday Times best seller

The Globe and Mail best seller

ABA Indie best seller

The Times (UK) Memoir of the Year

One of Newsweek's Most Anticipated Books of 2020

©2020 Anne Glenconner (P)2020 Hachette Books

Critic reviews

"It's a total hoot - I can't put it down." (Janet Street-Porter, Daily Mail)

"Royal obsessives and casual observers alike will devour this memoir by the confidante-a noble herself-of Princess Margaret. Glenconner candidly writes about the unimaginable tragedies she endured in her personal life, and of the gilded affairs she witnessed on the periphery of royal life." (Newsweek)

"Meticulously detailed....[W]hat makes this account fresh and poignant is Glenconner's use of affluent characters to demonstrate the extent to which class trumps power....By unflinchingly examining everything from her troubled marriage and her fraught relationship with her children to the solace she found in service, the author emerges as a flawed yet steely woman worthy of respect. In laying her life bare, she demonstrates the limitations of being a woman in the British class system, showing that privilege is no insulation from suffering or pain. A must-have for loyal royal fans." (Kirkus Reviews)

thank you for sharing your history

thank you for sharing your stories for generations to come. you made princess Margaret a real person with your words.

A fun quick read about crazy Brits

What a woman! Anne Glenconner has lived a colorful and tragic life. It was such a pleasure to hear her story recounted in her own voice.

IMPRESSING AND VERY INTERESTING

i thoroughly enjoyed this book and was especially impressed that Anne Glenconner was the narrator; it added so much to the listening experience. I thought the background of her family and other details of her life were well presented as well as the storyline of the various events that occured throughout her life. I admit, as others have stated in their reviews, there were a few chapters that included details that didnt hold my attention as well as others; but it was obviously part of her life she felt necessary to include. Overall, a great read, with lots of interesting details about her life and upbringing born into English royal.

marvelous!

Poignant, fascinating and a wonderful inside view into the royal family. It was even more authentic to have the author narrate.

What a wonderful book!

I thoroughly enjoyed every page of Lady Glenconner’s life. As a middle aged guy from North Carolina, I was struck by her incredible flexibility and acceptance of life’s sorrows, as well as her zest to experience all of the life her circumstances allowed. I cannot help but compare her to my own grandmother of the same generation, and just how different their lives, yet their attitude was the same. Thank you for sharing, ma’am (which is a perfectly correct address, considering the source! :)

So enjoyable!

Is it fact or fiction? Such a story! I enjoyed it from start to finish.

I think I found a new best friend.

I know authors should not narrate their own books, they just don't have the talent to bring the story alive. However, I can forgive this author. I felt like she was sitting there telling me her story because it was in her own voice. I loved the upper class accent, it educates you as to how the language really was spoken in those circles. It also upholds the old British "stiff upper lip" cliche, which seems really more of a mantra in this story than a cliche.

I like this woman, Anne Glenconner. She is intelligent, funny, adventurous, faithful and probably the best friend anyone could have. I would have loved to have traveled with her, been there to help her through the difficult times and laughed with her through the fun times. I already miss her.

Memoir?

I thought this was a true story, only to get to the end and realize that it is all fiction. I love the book with all its smiles and sadness and there’s a part of me that really thinks it is a true story.

Charming

Utterly brave and charming. I truly enjoyed the Audio book as Baroness Glenconner read it herself.

I love this book

I’m so happy this is narrated by Lady Glenconner, as her inflection adds to the story. I saw her appearance on Graham Norton and knew it would be a good book.