Having read ‘A Murder On Mustique’ (and goodness! I must get around to reviewing that one!), which is a murder mystery peopled by characters only thinly veiled from the real inhabitants of the island, including Anne Glenconner herself – I was intrigued to find out more about the real woman behind this charmingly-written book.
To give you a little flavour, here is some information from the ‘About the Author’ section on Amazon:
‘Lady Glenconner was born Lady Anne Coke in 1932, the eldest daughter of the 5th Earl of Leicester. 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.’
Lady in Waiting: My Extraordinary Life in the Shadow of the Crown by Anne GlenconnerMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
I picked this book up after reading Murder on Mustique, curious to know more about the real life of a lady in waiting to Princess Margaret.
In fact, Anne Coke (pronounced ‘Cook’), was a childhood friend of both princesses – their father, King George VI, was a frequent visitor to the family home, Holkham Hall, which stands close to the royal residence, Sandringham. With such a unique background, how could Anne’s story be anything other than extraordinary?
As it turns out, her life story is beyond extraordinary – a glimpse into a world of privilege, of eccentricity, of stiff upper lips to survive highs and lows beyond anything I expected. A truly spectacular tale, all the more remarkable for being a true accounting, offered up by the lady herself, and not a random biographer.
Another reviewer accuses the tale of being ‘dispiriting’, reading about Lady Anne’s ‘ghastly dysfunctional’ social class – people who apparently have everything and yet often end up destroying their own lives. I disagree: to me, much of the dysfunctionality evident is more about era than simply about class. It’s a sad indictment of the prejudices and expectations people were subjected to, and about the self-inflicted harm done to generations of people who lived through the war, and immediate post-war years.
If nothing else, this book goes to prove the adage that money can’t buy happiness, although there are many joyous tales, and the author succeeds in keeping an upbeat tone throughout her very matter-of-fact telling of a tumultuous range of events and emotions.
If you want an insight into the realities of living through the worst – and best – of the last century, you won’t go wrong with this book. ‘My Extraordinary Life’ is no empty tagline.
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deborahjay 
I was struck years ago by the excellent attitudes of the British upper class of old though not necessarily royalty–to those who are given much, much is expected back (I know I butchered that). The Bible says it also, as does John F. Kennedy. I might read the book just to see if they still embrace that.
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Upper class attitudes are certainly a strange mixture of excesses and charity; I think that attitude of responsibility to employees, tenants, members of local communities etc, definitely shines through, though possibly even more so now I’m reading her next novel, which is a (slightly) fictionalised version of her childhood and youth.
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I did enjoy the Crown (on Netflix) though I wonder how true it was.
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Me too, on both counts, although I suspect quite a lot of it is pretty close to the mark. Looking forward to the next series.
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Juicy review, and with my love of memoirs and fascinating British history, I’m off to check out this book! ❤
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I think it may well be right up your street, Deb!
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Added to my list – paperback. $17 for ebook, $22 paperback. No brainer! 🙂 x
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That was fascinating. A life of privilege that I can’t imagine. No, money can’t buy happiness and dysfunction seems to run through many families, rich and poor alike. Thanks for sharing what sounds like a fascinating autobiography.
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I rarely read autobiographies, but this one was too intriguing to miss out on. I’ve touched the lives of people in her sort of circle as a result of my work, but this tale was quite an eye-opener.
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I witnessed what went on in 1953…
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A bit before my time, so reading this book was an eyeopener on many things for me.
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