A Life in Waiting: Lady Glenconner on Royal Secrets and Survival

Lady Glenconner Interview: Princess Margaret, King Charles, and New Book At 94 years old, Lady Glenconner remains one of Britain's most captivating royal confidantes. In this delightfully witty and deeply moving interview, she sits down to discuss her final memoir, Trunks and Tiaras, reflecting on nearly a century of high-society travel, private royal moments, and personal resilience. As the former maid of honour who carried Queen Elizabeth II's coronation train and a guest at King Charles III's coronation, Lady Glenconner shares rare eyewitness memories of the monarchy in private. She recalls her decades as Princess Margaret's lady-in-waiting—including why the Princess forbade her from drinking champagne, surviving exhausting transatlantic flights on 1960s Stratocruisers, and weekends at Royal Lodge with the Queen Mother. She also speaks with characteristic honesty about devastating personal heartbreaks: losing two sons during the AIDS epidemic and to addiction, nursing her youngest son through a five-month coma, surviving a volatile marriage, her broken engagement to Princess Diana's father, and why she flatly dismisses Earl Spencer's controversial claims about King Charles. Timestamps 00:00 — Introduction: Why Trunks and Tiaras is her final book 01:08 — Natural hair at 94 and avoiding perms and dyes 02:40 — The real meaning of coming out as a debutante 03:30 — Flying in luxury on 1960s Stratocruisers with Princess Margaret 04:30 — Rescuing Princess Margaret on royal tours and church mornings 06:35 — Drinking with the Queen Mother: Gin and Dubonnet vs Champagne 08:35 — Childhood resilience during the Blitz and family tragedies 10:15 — The hilarious antics of best friend Ingrid Shannon 12:15 — Domestic abuse, helping others, and letters from the Queen 14:45 — Broken engagement to Princess Diana's father, Johnny Althorp 16:25 — The only person to attend both Queen Elizabeth and King Charles's coronations 18:15 — Dismissing Earl Spencer's claims about King Charles as rubbish 20:45 — Nearly becoming Bette Davis's Hollywood body double 22:15 — Memories of private railway stations and tiaras #ladyglenconner #royalfamily #princessmargaret #kingcharles #timesradio #charlesspencer Listen to Off Air with Jane & Fi, wherever you get your podcasts: https://podfollow.com/off-air-with-ja... Two friends, too many opinions. Get an unfiltered look at the ups and downs of life with Jane Garvey and Fi Glover, the kind of conversations that only happen Off Air. If you want to contact the show to ask a question and get involved in the conversation then please email us: janeandfi@times.radio and follow our antics away from the mic on Instagram: @janeandfi Follow Off Air with Jane & Fi wherever you get your podcasts and join us on Times Radio every Monday to Thursday afternoon between 2pm and 4pm on DAB, smart speaker and the Times Radio app: www.thetimes.com/radio/live Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.