Lady Glenconner

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Happy Birthday to Lady Glenconner, who turns 88th today! Born Lady Anne Coke, she was the eldest daughter of the 5th Earl of Leicester and Lady Elizabeth Yorke, and was raised at the magnificent family seat of Holkham Hall in Norfolk, near the Sandringham Estate where she was a regular playmate of the young Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret, spending the Second World War at Cortachy Castle in Scotland with her paternal great-aunt, the Countess of Airlie. In 1953, Lady Anne was selected to be one of the maids of honour at the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. In 1956, she married the Hon. Colin Tennant, the heir to Baron Glenconner, and the couple had five children Lady Anne became Baroness Glenconner after husband acceded to the title in 1983, and they resided between The Glen, the Glenconner Family Seat in Scotland, St Lucia, and Mustique, which was developed by Lord Glenconner. In 1971, Lady Glenconner became an Extra Lady-in-Waiting to Princess Margaret, which she remained until her death in 2002, being made a Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order. In 2019, Lady Glenconner published her memoir ‘Lady in Waiting: My Extraordinary Life in the Shadow of the Crown’, which has become a bestseller. She resides in cottage near Holkham Hall, which passed to a cousin after her father’s death. We wish her a very Happy Birthday and Many Happy Returns!

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2 thoughts on “Lady Glenconner

  1. Whoever said that aristocrats have it easy should read Lady Glenconner’s biography. True, she has enjoyed travel and meeting very important and famous people, but she certainly has had her pain and sorrows. An unfaithful husband, the death of two sons, and the terrible accident of yet another son, are things that would test anyone’s spirit. Yet there she is, aged 88 and still active, involved in the activities that interest her. Happy birthday to Lady Glenconner!

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