They might write to me and say, ‘I've got a very difficult husband.

And it seems to appeal to all sorts of people.

Sad things have happened to me and marvelous, amazing things, like being a train bearer at Queen Elizabeth’s coronation. “My book covers a lot of things, my life. But the pages of the book aren’t exclusively filled with glamorous travel, sparkling jewelry, and intimate conversations in the corridors of Kensington Palace at times, her words paint a shockingly honest picture of some of the most difficult experiences a person can endure, from losing a child to AIDS to watching another battle a heroin addiction. The book’s title is, of course, a reference to Glenconner’s official position attending the princess. Glenconner’s aristocratic upbringing-her father was the 5th Earl of Leicester, and an equerry to King George VI-and intimate connection to the British royal family are likely what inspire many to pick up her memoir she spent her childhood playing with Princess Margaret, and remained a friend and confidante to the Queen’s sister until the royal passed away in 2002. The sort of life I led doesn't really exist anymore,” she says. “While I was writing it, I realized I had led a very interesting life. Putting her memories down on paper, she realized just how exceptional her life had been. I got writer's diarrhea!’” Glenconner says, laughing. In fact, people said, 'Do you get writer's block?' And I said, ‘No, no. I'm actually rather old now to start.' But he said, ‘Try.’ And it all came pouring out. “He said, 'Have you ever thought of writing a book?' And I thought, 'Well, no. Her publishing career began in earnest just a few years ago when a friend prompted her to write a memoir, a book of stories about her life and close friendship with Princess Margaret, which would become Lady in Waiting : My Extraordinary Life in the Shadow of the Crown. “I've always told stories,” Glenconner, who is 88, tells me over the phone, “but I had no idea I would become a writer.” After all, her parents named her after an H.G. Lady Anne Glenconner was perhaps always destined to be a novelist. Photo credit: Hal Shinnie / Designed by Michael Stillwell - Hearst Owned

Lady glenconner book