Princess Margaret and the Queen Mother Had a "Slightly Strained Relationship," Former Aide Reveals
As public as the royals' lives are, it can be difficult to really know what goes on behind closed doors. But every now and then, an insider spills some juicy details—as with the recent book from Queen Elizabeth's longtime dresser, Angela Kelly; and now, in Lady Anne Glenconner's new memoir.
Glenconner served as a lady-in-waiting to Princess Margaret for some time, and the two developed a close relationship. In Lady in Waiting: My Extraordinary Life in the Shadow of the Crown, Glenconner recounts her experiences alongside the royal family—and, in some cases, the royals' experiences with each other.
Such is the case with Princess Margaret and the Queen Mother. It's been rumored in the past that the two didn't always see eye to eye, and in Lady in Waiting, Glenconner confirms this. She writes, per Express, "Those weekends at Royal Lodge were always fun, despite the bouts of bickering between the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret, who at times had a slightly strained relationship."
She went on, "One would do things like open all the windows, only for the other to go around shutting them. Or one would suggest an idea and the other would dismiss it immediately."
Glenconner has some speculations as to why they didn't get along, too. "Perhaps they were too similar – I don’t think it is an unusual predicament for a mother and daughter," she wrote. "And while they had been part of a foursome originally, they were left as the spare pair, to a certain extent."
Here, Glenconner is referencing both the literal loss of King George VI, and the figurative loss of Queen Elizabeth, who immediately had to assume the throne after George VI's death.
When she noted that Margaret had looked upset at her sister's Coronation, Glenconner wrote that Margaret replied, "Of course I looked sad, Anne. I had just lost my beloved father and, really, I had just lost my sister, because she was going to be so busy and had already moved to Buckingham Palace, so it was just me and the Queen Mother."
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