LADY IN WAITING

Sub-titled 'My Extraordinary Life in the Shadow of the Crown', this bestseller has been described as 'The best royal book by a mile...funny, gossipy and riveting.' The remarkable life of Lady in Waiting to Princess Margaret who was also a Maid of Honour at the Queen's Coronation, Anne Glenconner has been close to the Royal Family since childhood. Eldest child of the 5th Earl of Leicester, she was as his daughter described as 'the greatest disappointment' by her family, as she was unable to inherit. Her childhood home of Holkham Hall is one of the grandest estates in England. Bordering Sandringham, the princesses Elizabeth and Margaret were frequent playmates. Lady Glenconner has been a witness to royal history and an extraordinary survivor of a generation of aristocratic women trapped without inheritance and burdened with social expectations. She married the charismatic but highly volatile Colin Tennant, Lord Glenconner, who became owner of Mustique. Together they turned the island into a paradise for the rich and famous, and welcomed guests like Mick Jagger and David Bowie. It became a favourite retreat for Princess Margaret, but underneath the glitz and glamour, there also lurked tragedy. On Lord Glenconner's death in 2010, he left his fortune to a former employee and of their five children, two grown-up sons died, while a third son had to be nursed back from a coma by Anne, having suffered a near-fatal accident. Anne writes with extraordinary wit, generosity and courage as she exposes what life was like in her gilded cage, revealing the role of her great friendship with Princess Margaret, and the freedom she can finally now enjoy in later life. 325pp, paperback with rare colour and black and white photos.