Lady in Waiting

Lesson 1. Courtiers play an important role and are normally chosen from an elite group of noble British families.

Can you remember a moment when your life was changed forever? For Lady Anne Glenconner, it was when she received a telegram one morning, while living in the US. She had set sail from London to New York in November 1952, at just nineteen years of age. Stateside, she moved with film executives and movie stars like Bette Davis and Bob Hope, in exclusive social circles. The telegram she received early one morning in February 1953, would change the course of her life.

The coronation of Queen Elizabeth II was to take place within a few months. Elizabeth had appointed Anne as one of her maids of honor, which meant that during the ceremony she would serve as one of Elizabeth's attendants. Conventionally, a personal team of courtiers is hired by the British Royal Family for such purpose. Such courtiers include equerries, senior attendants drawn from the armed forces, and ladies-in-waiting who work as attendants of female royals.

While these may sound like duties for servants and employees, they actually confer prestige. The royals typically give these responsibilities to trusted friends from noble families, which are passed down from one generation to the next, along with the titles. Although Anne was happily pleased by this role, it was not entirely unexpected. Her father was an equerry to King George, after all. She returned to England shortly afterwards to fulfill her royal obligation. The coronation of Queen Elizabeth II was held at Westminster Abbey on June 2, 1953, before an audience of eight thousand people.

Though Anne recalls Buckingham Palace's post-coronation festivities as a joyful affair, there was one exception. The younger sister of the Queen, Princess Margaret, looked gloomy. Margaret would tell Anne later that she felt sad that day. Her father, after all, had just died. Now, she thought that she was also losing her sister. And it was very true. Elizabeth was soon overwhelmed with the obligations and duties of becoming Queen. In the shadow of her sister, the Queen, Margaret was left to adapt to the changed circumstances.

Lesson 2. Even outside aristocratic circles, Princess Margaret was a trendsetter.

Coming out of the shadow of an older sibling is often a daunting task. For Margaret, it was no different. Margaret quickly developed a reputation for being wayward and rebellious, in comparison with her dutiful older sister. The Caribbean island had no drinking water or electricity when Anne and her husband Colin purchased it in 1958,