Lady in Waiting Quotes

“The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing at the right place, but to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the most tempting moment.”
― Anne Glenconner, Lady in Waiting: My Extraordinary Life in the Shadow of the Crown

“We were brought up not to throw in the towel but to bite the bullets and fold towels neatly”
― Anne Glenconner, Lady in Waiting: My Extraordinary Life in the Shadow of the Crown

“Things have a habit of working out, not necessarily in the way you expect, and you must never force them.”
― Anne Glenconner, Lady in Waiting: My Extraordinary Life in the Shadow of the Crown

“Queen Mary did teach me a valuable lesson...'quite often rather nice, rather valuable things come in little boxes'.”
― Anne Glenconner, Lady in Waiting: My Extraordinary Life in the Shadow of the Crown

“to”
― Anne Glenconner, Lady in Waiting: My Extraordinary Life in the Shadow of the Crown

“Her daughter-in-law, “Debo,” Duchess of Devonshire, was wearing an eighteenth-century scarlet velvet robe over an ivory silk dress with a low scoop neckline, which my mother had told me the Duchess had found in a trunk at Chatsworth and had belonged to Georgiana Cavendish, the 5th Duchess, who had been known in her time as the “Empress of Fashion.” Despite it being two hundred years out of date, it didn’t look at all out of place in a setting and on an occasion that felt timeless.”
― Anne Glenconner, Lady in Waiting: My Extraordinary Life in the Shadow of the Crown

“One of the protocols of being in the company of a member of the Royal Family is that if they are standing, you have to stand—you can’t sit down until they do.”
― Anne Glenconner, Lady in Waiting: My Extraordinary Life in the Shadow of the Crown

“We complained but without overindulging, speaking bluntly, then brushing our troubles aside, concentrated on doing the things we enjoyed. She loved collecting shells to make tables decorated with shell tops, so together we would comb the beach, then take them back to the house to clean, lining them up out in the sun. It is surprising how such activities can have a calming effect and divert attention from any difficulties.”
― Anne Glenconner, Lady in Waiting: My Extraordinary Life in the Shadow of the Crown

“There she was, clambering up the hill, wearing Colin’s pajamas, with string tied around her ankles and wrists to stop the brambles scratching and the mosquitoes biting. She wore wide sunglasses, a straw hat, and a big smile, not minding at all. She wasn’t vain. She just got on with things.”
― Anne Glenconner, Lady in Waiting: My Extraordinary Life in the Shadow of the Crown

“Incidentally, Cecil Beaton had approached my father, wanting to be the official photographer, but when my father said he had already booked Tony, Cecil was disappointed. My father decided to invite Cecil as a guest and he took some wonderful photos, then sent the bill to my father, which didn’t go down well.”
― Anne Glenconner, Lady in Waiting: My Extraordinary Life in the Shadow of the Crown

“I went with my friend Mary Birkbeck, who didn’t really like people, much preferring dogs and horses. We”
― Anne Glenconner, Lady in Waiting: My Extraordinary Life in the Shadow of the Crown

“Barbara would take them and Christopher to Ranelagh Gardens, part of the grounds at the Royal Hospital, Chelsea. It was a very formal place to go because the nannies would sit on different park benches according to the titles of the family they were employed by – nannies working for earls wouldn’t dare sit on the bench full of nannies employed by dukes.”
― Anne Glenconner, Lady in Waiting: My Extraordinary Life in the Shadow of the Crown

“We had wonderful times, digging holes in the sand, hoping people would fall into them.”
― Anne Glenconner, Lady in Waiting: My Extraordinary Life in the Shadow of the Crown

“At the end of the service, as the coffin was accompanied down the aisle, the Queen Mother, who was a hundred and one and in a wheelchair, managed to get up and stand, bowing her head as her daughter passed.”
― Anne Glenconner, Lady in Waiting: My Extraordinary Life in the Shadow of the Crown

“The Season was one huge rush of hormones and expectations binding the aristocracy together. While the aesthetics made it look innocent and romantic, the façade simply disguised the impending necessity to secure an heir for every titled family in England.”
― Anne Glenconner, Lady in Waiting: My Extraordinary Life in the Shadow of the Crown

“Once the Queen had got out of the carriage, we gathered up her crimson train, using the silk handles as the velvet rippled over our hands.”
― Anne Glenconner, Lady in Waiting: My Extraordinary Life in the Shadow of the Crown

“Our role as Maids of Honor was to carry the Queen’s twenty-one-foot purple velvet, ermine-trimmed train in the procession,”
― Anne Glenconner, Lady in Waiting: My Extraordinary Life in the Shadow of the Crown

“Dorothy Neville-Rolfe who coined the phrase, “The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing at the right place, but to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the most tempting moment.”
― Anne Glenconner, Lady in Waiting: My Extraordinary Life in the Shadow of the Crown

“he”
― Anne Glenconner, Lady in Waiting: My Extraordinary Life in the Shadow of the Crown

“One of the protocols of being in the company of a member of the Royal Family is that if they are standing, you have to stand - you can't sit down until they do. They seem to do an awful lot of standing...”
― Anne Glenconner, Lady in Waiting: My Extraordinary Life in the Shadow of the Crown

“According to Princess Margaret, "You can't possibly have a picnic without your butler.”
― Anne Glenconner , Lady in Waiting: My Extraordinary Life in the Shadow of the Crown

“Without him, my childhood home was no longer accessible to me, and with it, the foundation of my identity.”
― Anne Glenconner, Lady in Waiting: My Extraordinary Life in the Shadow of the Crown

“Her acknowledgement of his bravery made me feel proud of him, which was a comfort, especially when I was faced with so many other people distancing themselves from us, then having to deal with the press, who behaved like animals. Having followed his story, they swarmed to the house after his death: Henry had become headline news. While he had wanted his story to be shared in the hope it would have a positive impact, for us in the direct aftermath, the reality was extremely difficult to deal with. Every morning, a newspaper was posted through the door with Henry’s photo and huge, normally very blunt, headlines. And the press kept coming, the police seemingly unable to stop them, as they filled the street, ringing the doorbell all day and all night, stooping”
― Anne Glenconner, Lady in Waiting: My Extraordinary Life in the Shadow of the Crown