Lady Anne Glenconner was Princess Margaret’s lady-in-waiting and Lady Anne is still close to King Charles’s court. She’s a royal-approved author nowadays – her 2020 memoir was a huge bestseller, and she detailed her aristocratic, well-connected life as well as her physically and emotionally abusive marriage to Colin Tennant, 3rd Baron Glenconner. In recent months, she’s been promoting another book, and she’s been giving lots of (Windsor-approved) interviews about the royals. Last year, she complained bitterly about The Crown, and she also claimed that the Duchess of Sussex was unhappy in the UK because she was disappointed that royal life wasn’t as “grand” as she thought it would be. Lady Anne chatted with People Magazine for this week’s issue and of course she had thoughts about the role of “spares” and the upcoming Chubbly. Some highlights:
On “spare” Princess Margaret: “I knew Princess Margaret very, very well. And of course, she was a spare for quite a long time. But I mean, she was always completely loyal to the Queen. The only thing I ever heard her complain about was that she wish she’d been better educated. The Queen had people from Oxford and Cambridge universities and Eton College to tutor her. Princess Margaret was left with the governess. But that was the only thing she ever said — that she wished she’d been better educated. But otherwise, I mean, there was no whinging, no complaining.”
The new generations of royals. “When I was talking about the young, that’s what they do now — they seem to complain and whinge. My generation lived through the war and had a really awful childhood. My parents were away for three years. I didn’t see them. My father was fighting in El Alamein in Egypt, and my uncle was killed. So when we came out of it, we just felt so lucky to be alive. There’s so much to enjoy in this world. I think that my, you know. I hate banging on about my generation, but we are quite different.”.
On the Chubbly: While Lady Anne doesn’t know if the King’s younger son will come, she says, “I’m sure the King would like him to come. This one is going to be smaller. It’s going to be more inclusive, I think with many more religions represented. That is going to play a big part.”
Lady Anne is 90 years old – she would have been 21 years old on D-Day. I mean… it was a different time, different rules, an age of deference, colonial times when “people knew their place” and someone like Meghan Markle would never have been allowed to marry into the royal family. That doesn’t change the fact that Lady Anne is full of sh-t. Margaret bitched and moaned about everything, as well she should – she was treated like sh-t by her sister and the institution, she couldn’t marry her great love Peter Townsend, and Margaret was an alcoholic depressive. That is what they wanted for Prince Harry. And they’re mad that he was able to break the cycle of generational trauma and pain, that he wasn’t content to have his life ruined just to make Peggington look good by comparison.
Photos courtesy of ‘Graham Norton’ and Cover Images.
-
- USA Rights Only – London, UK -20191107- Anne Glenconner, Olivia Colman, Helena Bonham Carter, Graham Norton, Chadwick Boseman, Richard Ayoade and Niall Horan during the filming for the Graham Norton Show at BBC Studioworks 6 Television Centre, Wood Lane, London, to be aired on BBC One on Friday evening. -PICTURED: Lady Anne Glenconner -PHOTO by: Isabel Infantes/PA Images/INSTARimages.com -48172494.jpg This is an editorial, rights-managed image. Please contact Instar Images LLC for licensing fee and rights information at sales@instarimages.com or call +1 212 414 0207 This image may not be published in any way that is, or might be deemed to be, defamatory, libelous, pornographic, or obscene. Please consult our sales department for any clarification needed prior to publication and use. Instar Images LLC reserves the right to pursue unauthorized users of this material. If you are in violation of our intellectual property rights or copyright you may be liable for damages, loss of income, any profits you derive from the unauthorized use of this material and, where appropriate, the cost of collection and/or any statutory damages awarded Featuring: Lady Anne Glenconner Where: London, England, United Kingdom When: 07 Nov 2019 Credit: Isabel Infantes/PA Images/INSTARimages.com **USA Rights Only**
-
- Ceremonial procession of the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall where Her Majesty will lie in state Featuring: Prince Harry, King Charles III Where: London, United Kingdom When: 14 Sep 2022 Credit: Cover Images
-
- Ceremonial Procession of the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall The coffin of Queen Elizabeth II, draped in the Royal Standard with the Imperial State Crown placed on top, is carried on a horse-drawn gun carriage of the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery, during the ceremonial procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall, London, where it will lie in state ahead of her funeral on Monday Featuring: Prince William, Catherine Princess of Wales, Prince Harry, Meghan Duchess of Sussex Where: London, Britain, United Kingdom When: 14 Sep 2022 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages.com/Cover Images **North America Rights Only**
-
- Ceremonial Procession of the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall The coffin of Queen Elizabeth II, draped in the Royal Standard with the Imperial State Crown placed on top, is carried on a horse-drawn gun carriage of the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery, during the ceremonial procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall, London, where it will lie in state ahead of her funeral on Monday Featuring: Prince Harry, Meghan Duchess of Sussex Where: London, Britain, United Kingdom When: 14 Sep 2022 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages.com/Cover Images **North America Rights Only**
-
- State Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II held at Westminster Abbey in London. Featuring: King Charles III, Camilla, Queen Consort, Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, Princess Anne, Princess Royal, Prince Andrew, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex Where: London, England, United Kingdom When: 19 Sep 2022 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages.com/Cover Images **North America Rights Only**
Yes Peg and Can’t are very big whiners. They do it every day to the tabloid press.
Says the woman that is whining about others
@CHLOE
LOLOLOLOL
💯😂🤣
This is what I say. The only whinging I see comes from old people.
Exactly @Chloe! Funny how these other writers and royal commentators are all allowed to speak out, write, and profit with palace approval but when it’s coming from Prince Harry it’s whining. Oh well, another royal book I won’t be purchasing.
THIS woman embodies the whole problem with British Royal Family and class system. And their inability to STFU.
Exactly. In writing about her abusive marriage, isn’t she complaining and whinging?
Chloe deserves comment of the WEEK!!!!!
Brava Chloe!!!! Please stand and take a bow 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
chefs kiss from me
She sounds like the old biddies at my grandmas LTC home. I know that for some of them, the fact that young people can complain and thus begin to change systems blows their minds. They are jealous that they had to live such constrained lives (they did not, but without knowing alternatives existed, what would you do?) and they are big mad about it. Some people cannot fathom turning anger into conviction, only into a weapon.
Exaclty this; it reminds me of certain older people saying ‘I was spanked by my parents, and I turned out fine’. Erm, no you didn’t, because you think it’s okay to hit your child.
She clearly has trauma she needs to work through if she thinks that a ‘horrible childhood’ (in her words) resulted in simply being grateful to be alive. I’m sad for her that she didn’t get to experience a rich, dynamic, safe childhood. Everyone is entitled to that. I didn’t have that either, but I also don’t think that since I’m alive, that I need to stfu because I could have had it worse.
Yes. The physical and emotional abuse normalized in previous decades (beatings, slurs, destruction of property, being made to stand outside with signs, not being allowed to have irritation in facial expressions or body language) combined with religion’s influence are big parts of why the Generation Snowflake and anti-SJW talking points are even a thing today. A lot of people are still walking around with warped and unrealistic expectations on what gratitude, accountability, and respect are supposed to be, and try to turn it into moral weakness or mental illness when younger people set boundaries or try to say certain treatment of certain groups of people isn’t ok anymore.
It’s always sad when someone gets a kick out of bragging to younger people about how old Missy Mildred beat their ass and called women every name in book.
Thank you for your kind response, and I agree. It’s such an interesting point you raise about ‘Generation Snowflake’ etc, and I feel similarly about the rise of the alt-right and people like Andrew Tate. Instead of looking inwards at why boundaries are now being set, or people aren’t accepting the status quo as ‘well that’s just the way it is’, people attack those who think we all deserve better.
I agree with much of what you say, but I think many people who are in their 80s/90s now really didn’t have a lot of choice but to live a rather constrained life. I can see being upset about that in retrospect, but it’s dysfunctional to wish the same kinds of constraints on others. “We suffered in silence so you should too, instead of trying to change things” is messed up.
And in fairness many older people do NOT take this view. My mom died a few years ago in her mid 80s and was totally supportive of younger people having freedoms, including the freedom to express feelings frankly, that she didn’t. It all depends on the person. In Lady Anne’s case she clearly got a double dose of generational repression and royal repression.
They did have to live constrained lives. Especially women. They could not open bank accounts in their own name, marital rape was legal, good jobs for women were few and far between, sexual harassment was nearly a given — I’m talking about white upper and middle class women here even. Poor women, working class women, and women of color were even more constrained.
Let’s please not forget history, and the struggles our ancestors had to deal with.
I grew up in Britain in the 50s and 60s. I married in the early 70s. I had my own bank account, and when I wrote to the bank manager about some thing pertaining to my account and mortgage payments made from it, the bank wrote to my husband saying “in answer to your wife’s letter…”
I was absolutely appalled. This was Midland Bank, don’t know if they’re still around.
Also, I didn’t have to file taxes because I was legally my husband’s .. what exactly ? Property? Dependent? Whatever I was, he was legally the tax filer, I was nobody.
And yes, I emigrated.
I don’t think anyone is forgetting that. I think the point is, they suffered horrific things and just had to hold on to that trauma. Now some of them are so warped that they believe others should also internalize their trauma and suffer quietly.
That way can never be healthy for society. I think a lot of the horrible childhood experiences people had were as a result of intergenerational trauma. Their parents also suffered and holding it in resulted in them lashing out at their children , who then lashed out at their children. That’s a lot of suffering in the world that can only be healed by addressing it.
Margaret was also a well-known alcoholic, so I suppose this old lady would rather we all shut up and drink ourselves to death before our own mothers die? Solid plan.
Young people have every right to complain, as far as this Gen-Xer is concerned.
Look at the world they’ve grown up in.
A Life changing environmental crisis, a political system controlled by and benefitting the rich and powerful, Fascists coming after their freedoms and rights and persecuting those who don’t fit into their little white picket fence lifestyles.
They have every right to make a noise.
Heck, I’m a Boomer and I totally agree with them.
My mother was about the same age as Lady Anne. My mom used to talk with great empathy about the challenges facing young people today — social media pressures, the fear of not doing as well as one’s parents, the challenge of training for a job that might not exist in 10 years.
My mom would have rolled her eyes — hard — at Lady Anne’s nonsense about the younger royals “whinging and complaining.” My mom believed that people of her generation were harmed by the stiff upper lip mentality and repressive attitudes.
Bottom line: I’m glad I was parented by my wonderful mom, and not someone like Lady Anne.
This is so true. As a child I always thought that older people have life wisdom and experience and that gives them perspective. Well, mostly not. They lived in certain times and cannot and would not comprehend how times have changed. Yes, we have pampers for our babies but there was never such pressure on parents as it is now. When I want to school I just got a letter saying – hey, your kid will go to this school this year. My daughter is 4 and I need to start sending emails and visiting schools if I don’t want her to land in a random school 2h drive from home. And it’s like that with every aspect of our lives.
Ah, certain types of old people pretending they’re not complaining while they’re complaining about young people. Tale as old as time.
Yep.
It’s funny how all these royalist loves to point the finger at Meghan and Harry as the ones who complain and whine . While william has a injection against the British media that any time there a rumors about himself he threatens to sue them basic on human privacy laws William and Kate and Charles constantly complain whine explain they just hide behind royal sources . The narrative that the Royals never complain is false their constantly leaking complaining about how hurt they are about this situation or in William case how angry he is .
Excellent commentary Kaiser. That’s precisely what they wanted for Harry. Margaret died much younger than her mother and sister because her unhappiness led her to drink and smoke heavily, ruining her health. She used substances and the party life to replace real joy. That royal family is a trap and you must chew your paw off to get away. And still they hound you.
I mean she has written a whole book about her life if we are following the press’ talking points, she’s a also complainer and whinger for writing her book. She shouldn’t be airing her dirty line in public, right?
Yes, quite the hypocrite Lady Anne is. And her comments about Margaret are pure bullsh#t. We all saw how Margaret suffered. Let’s not forget that her own sister treated her horribly simply for the sanctity of the Crown having banned Margaret to marry Peter Townsend.
The only one whining here is this woman about how the Spare is supposed to happily eat shit. Go complain somewhere else lady.
I think if she’s 90, Lady Anne would not have been 21 on D-Day – more like 12, depending on when her birthday is. I only noticed this because my mother is 94, and she was 16 at the time. I am grateful that my mother is pretty realistic about the positives and negatives of having come of age at that time, and I think on the whole she would have preferred to have had the opportunities that were not available to women. She has always embraced change and been curious and supportive when it comes to the lives of her children and grandchildren.
Was coming on here to say the same. She was 8 or 9 during the Blitz, so I imagine she did have an awful childhood. Still doesn’t excuse the things she is saying now.
To be fair Margaret could have married her ‘great love’ when she turned 25 (at which point she didn’t need official permission) but she didn’t want to lose her place in the order of succession so broke it off.
Considering her sister had heirs already, in hindsight it looks like a first infatuation that she grew out of.
Indeed, she couldn’t give up her comfortable lifestyle, subsidized by the royal purse, and her privileges either, to become just Mrs. Townsend.
Yes, can we give up this narrative of Margaret’s great love? It’s like the twaddle about the fairytale of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.
And queen Mary tried to educate Margaret and Margaret bitched and moaned and resented it. The Queen mother really is the one who kickstarted the ill educated royals thing. Victoria and Albert stressed education, maybe too much. Edward VII rebelled and he and Alexandra didn’t educate their children well. But George V realized where he was lacking (though he was strong in some areas) and queen Mary was educated and intellectually curious. They tried to educate their children to varying degrees of success. But George vi and Elizabeth were very lackadaisical about it and that seems to have stuck.
My father fought with the RCAF/RAF in WWII and nearly lost his life more than once. My parents struggled after the war — they lived in a one room apartment, had very little money, and scraped out a post-war life that didn’t involve lavish estates, servants and a fat bank account. My dad suffered PTSD and a lifetime of back problems due to 2 plane crashes. By comparison this old bag had it good yet she appears to be the one doing the complaining and whinging about her *tough life*. She reminds me of that great skit by Monty Python — The Four Yorkshiremen — here it is, it’s very funny but also true in an over-the-top way. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeXMKygwSco
That skit by Monty Python was golden @ Jaded!! Thank you for the laughs!!!
Just finished Lady Glenconner’s memoir: her emotionally abusive marriage to which she turned a blind eye, children she physically and emotionally neglected until adulthood—yeah, won’t be taking life advice from her. But if you want to read a person defend her friend Princess Margaret as being very lovely, and then back it up with anecdote of Margaret being an absolutely classist monster to anyone not white and aristocratic, or listen to someone lament about money troubles in one sentence and then a paragraph later talk about flying for her umpteenth trip to her private island in the Caribbean (Mustique), then by all means, it’s a captivating account of a rarified existence built entirely on the backs of the less fortunate….
Thank you for this thoughtful reply. And spot on. All I could come up with was “bite me.”
All I could think when I read this- wasn’t Princess Margaret terribly unhappy for large portions of her life?!? How is that the expectation, screw that!
There have always been a.version of this “back in the day, I used to …………”
While I do not agree with her, I respect her right to her opinion and being able to share it.
@ Well Wisher, I understand your comment but the issue with Lady Anne is that she is expecting the children of Chuckles, ie Harry, to take it as it is just as her generation did. Furthermore, she doesn’t know Meghan and she has NO business speaking for what Meghan did and did not expect. Lady Anne is voicing her own experiences onto Meghan and she has no right to do so. Why would any woman, of any age I might add, stay in an unhealthy and abusive environment??
Is Lady Anne speaking for the benefit of Chuckles?? Me thinks so.
I’ve always been mindful of the fact that while everyone (in a putative democracy) has the right to hv & express their opinions, I hv no obligation to respect it.
Yes!
Humans have been bitching and moaning ever since they developed speech – they just didn’t have tabloids and social media so they could publicly air every grievance. It’s hard to express “my family sucks” in a cave painting.
Anne was originally engaged to johnnie Spencer, Diana’s dad. The engagement was broken off. There were fears of the mental instability in one of her lines. (Stuart-Hepburn-Trefusis or something like that) It was that same family line that caused the instability of the queen mother’s institutionalized nieces.
hm, think our generation decided we would rather complain than bottle it up and be closet alcoholics, pedophiles or horrible racists and absent parents. i see that as a win. she’s not wrong, they were a different generation of royals.
Lady G spilled the secret, there is an “in club” and they spend all their time discussing whois “in” and who is “out”
Yes, back in the day as Princess Margaret’s Lady in Waiting, she was basically her handmaiden. And Margaret lived a miserable, unfilled life. Yes, the good old days.