Lady Anne Glenconner: ‘Princess Margaret and I were quite naughty then, Elizabeth always had an eye out for us’

Lady Anne Glenconner has lore like no one else I’ve known. She is like Jilly Cooper on steroids and with a royal connection. Is it possible to have lived a more colourful, fascinating life? Perhaps. But to talk about it with as much vim and mischief as Lady Glenconner does aged 93? Impossible. She’s mad as a box of (extremely well-heeled) frogs.

Born in 1932, the daughter of the 5th Earl of Leicester served as a maid of honour at the coronation of Elizabeth II and was a lady-in-waiting to Princess Margaret from 1971 until her death in 2002. She was married to Colin Tennant, 3rd Baron Glenconner (who, incidentally, took her to a brothel on their honeymoon in Paris — see what I mean about Jilly Cooper?) and her 2019 memoir Lady in Waiting was a New York Times and Sunday Times bestseller.

Born Anne Veronica Coke, she was the eldest of three girls. Their father was equerry to George VI and a soldier in the Scots guard, which meant that the young children went wherever he was posted. She was nearly seven when the Second World War broke out and her parents moved to Egypt. Her father was fighting and her mother worked for the Red Cross. The children went to live with their great aunt, after which they moved to Holkham Hall in Norfolk. She remembers it fondly and, in true ‘Lady Anne Glenconner’ style, with a bizarre twist that is a publicist's worst nightmare: ‘We had great fun. Always climbing trees. My sister and I had a pony and there was a prisoner-of-war camp in the park. We had Italian prisoners, first of all, and then German prisoners who weren't so friendly and nice. The Italian prisoners were lovely.’

Latest Videos From

Watch full video here:

The young Elizabeth II and Princess Margaret were often visitors, as Sandringham was nearby. ‘We saw them a lot, because when we were small like that, Queen Mary was a great friend of my grandmother,’ she says. Of herself and Margaret, she admits ‘we were quite naughty then. Elizabeth always had an eye out for us’.

At the age of 18, Tatler named her ‘debutante of the year’. She had an engagement to Johnnie Althorp (the future father of Diana, the Princess of Wales), but it was broken off. Being a lady-in-waiting came after Lady Anne had children with Lord Glenconner, three boys and two girls. ‘I knew [Princess Margaret], I was always a friend. We got on terribly well and I found her quite easy to, sort of, manage,’ she recalls of that time.

Lord Glenconner, who died in 2010, ‘was wonderful, magical, clever — everything like that, but he had a flip side, which I have written about. His temper was very difficult,’ Lady Anne says. She was a sufferer of domestic abuse. Living in Mustique, their privately owned island in the Caribbean, with him was ‘fantastic,’ nonetheless. ‘We had it for 12 years on our own. No electric light, no water, nothing.’ Her life has been marked by extreme highs and extreme lows. She has lost two of her sons, Charles and Henry, to illnesses, but says that letters from fans who have also lost their children make her feel ‘very humble’.

Her latest book Manners & Mischief has done well. Her publishers want her to write another book, she says, ‘but I don’t know if I can. I will be 94 at my next birthday’. She still attends plenty of events and gives talks — and clearly loves it. ‘My fans are wonderful. I’m a gay icon in America. I have a lot of young male fans there,’ she boasts. She also spends time bird watching, on the beach and in the local park, particularly after recovering from a rather nasty broken back. She enjoys ‘all those things that I didn't really have time for’ before.

‘Colin and Princess Margaret, although they were wonderful to write about, they needed my attention. I spent my whole time looking after them in some respects and now, sadly, they've both gone, but I can think about myself for the first time, really. And, I’m really enjoying myself.’

Your aesthetic hero

Well, being brought up in a war, [Sir Winston] Churchill was the person I most admired as a child. He was wonderful. All the talks he gave to people, how he encouraged people and how he won the war. So I think, for me at my age, Churchill.

An exhibition that has really impressed you

Tutankhamun. I went with Princess Margaret to Egypt, and we saw an exhibition about him. And the other thing was seeing the Terracotta Warriors from China. I thought that was great, too.

The last thing of note that you bought for yourself

I don't buy very much. I hate shopping. What helps me with my writing, however — because I didn't keep diaries, really — is that I took a great many photographs. I've got 100 photograph books, and I had them made in Italy. They're absolutely lovely, with lovely end papers and beautiful leather. So often I buy one of those. They’re terribly heavy and I'm not quite as strong as I used to be. I do find that a slight problem.

Your favourite painting

My great-great-great-grandfather [Thomas William Coke] painted by Batoni when he went on the Grand Tour to Italy. I really love seeing that picture.

A possession you’d never sell

My coronation dress and my coronation brooch. The night before the coronation, one of the Queen’s pages arrived where I was staying in a flat. He brought over a lovely little red box, and inside was a diamond brooch and a note, in the Queen's own handwriting, saying: ‘I hope you will wear this tomorrow’. Of course, I did.

A book you found inspiring

I love books. One I really did enjoy very much was Hilary Mantel’s Bring Up The Bodies. I thought she wrote beautifully. But it is so difficult to choose just one book. I mean, it’s an impossible question.

The music you work to

I like classical music, and if I’m not working I love listening to opera.

The last podcast you listened to

I don't look at podcasts! Perhaps I’m missing out?

Who would play you in a film of your life

I gave a talk the other day and somebody asked that question. I couldn’t help laughing. I thought it was so funny. The girl that played me in The Crown was rather good — Nancy Carroll.

What you’d take with you to a desert island

A book about how to build a boat.

The thing that gets you up in the morning

I am a morning person. I wake up, get up and always want to see what the day is like.

The items you collect

I used to collect things. I had a big sale the other day, I gave up my flat in London as I wanted to raise some money for my youngest son who had a motorbike accident. He’s quite badly disabled. I used to collect a type of china made in Scotland, but I have sold quite a bit. I also used to collect green glass.

A hotel you could go back and back to

The Portobello Hotel in London, now that I no longer have a flat there. It’s an absolute joy. If I had a grand choice I suppose I would say The Ritz, because when I had my second born son he was huge (11lbs) and I could hardly move. I was absolutely depressed so Colin said: ‘Stay at The Ritz until Henry is born.’ Unfortunately we only had three days, but they were the most luxurious wonderful days. Also, it has the best dining room in London. Margaret used to like going there too.

The most memorable meal you’ve ever had

One or two on Mustique were wonderful. Colin was great at parties. We used to have wonderful dinners outside along the beach, it was all beautifully done. It didn’t really matter what we had to eat too much, the setting was so lovely. We had West Indian food. Chicken and coconut soup and mangoes or passion fruit made into soufflés — that sort of thing.

The best present you’ve ever received

The brooch the Queen gave me. Or a beautiful tiara, with eight stars, that Colin gave me for a state visit dinner at Buckingham palace, because I didn’t have one. That was the most marvellous present I had.

Lady Glenconner’s book ‘Manners & Mischief' is available in all good bookshops.