Glenconner looks at me as if I’ve left my marbles on the train: “I’ve been through the second world war and lived with someone with Aids at the beginning. I lean in to kiss her, but then ask if she’s refraining because of the coronavirus. It is easy to picture her striding around the world, making small talk with Imelda Marcos, which is what she used to do with Princess Margaret. She has the accent of the Queen – “really” becomes “rill-eh”, “off” is “orff” – and is dressed like her too, in a blouse, cardigan, pleated knee length skirt, tights and loafers. “Are you really tired after your journey? Did you find a taxi when you got off the train?” she asks when I arrive at her home on the Norfolk coast.
And its other great strength is Glenconner herself. But Lady Glenconner’s book has two things going for it: the first is that it is not what it seems it is definitely not “a lavender sort of scented memoir”, as Glenconner put it when she appeared on The Graham Norton Show last November. Written by the former lady-in-waiting to Princess Margaret, its broad appeal might seem surprising, not least because Margaret was hardly the most popular royal. Lady in Waiting: My Extraordinary Life in the Shadow of the Crown by Anne Glenconner has sold more than 200,000 copies in the UK and retains a tenacious hold on the bestseller lists. Make sure you never miss a ROYAL story! Sign up to our newsletter to get all of our celebrity, royal and lifestyle news delivered directly to your inbox.S ince it came out five months ago, a debut work by an 87-year-old has become a publishing phenomenon. The Graham Norton Show, BBC One, Friday 8 November 10.40pm. Lord Glenconner eventually sold his interest in Mustique after financial difficulties in the 1970s and went into exile in St Lucia. Lady Anne continued to work with Princess Margaret until her death in 2002, at the age of 71. After the royal couple's marriage turned turbulent, Mustique became Margaret's refuge and was her sanctuary away from a life in the limelight. After their marriage in 1960, Lord Glenconner gifted Margaret with a plot of land on Mustique, where she had a five-bedroom villa built, christened Les Jolies Eaux (Beautiful Waters). Princess Margaret met her future husband, Antony Armstong-Jones, who was hired to take photos at Lady Anne and Lord Glenconner's wedding. Princess Margaret with Lord and Lady Glenconner in Mustique in 1977
0 kommentar(er)
