Lady Anne Glenconner is, she says, ‘having the best time ever’, and she can’t wait to share it. Before she has even sat down in her ‘terribly old-fashioned’ drawing room, she has picked up the jackets for the paperback and US editions of her bestselling memoir, , and is reading out the puffs in dramatic tones, her voice majestically old-school (‘orf’ for off, ‘gel’ for girl): ‘ – memoir of the year,’ she cries. ‘Jaw-dropping – ,’ and ‘Royal magic – Tina Brown.
’ It’s not just critics who have heaped praise on the 87-year-old aristocrat. Lady Anne recently saw on Mustique, and after she told him, ‘You’ll be very surprised to hear, Mick, but you’re the only man in my book who comes out of it rather well,’ he let her know how much he’d enjoyed the audio version. is clearly another fan – she asked for a signed copy for her maid.
And Helena Bonham Carter, who played Lady Anne’s great friend in , tells that ‘Anne is extraordinary and very robust – as you might expect, given she’s survived so much. She’s an amazing, non-judgemental woman, with huge emotional and physical strength. She’s completely unstoppable.
’ Bonham Carter – who is her cousin by marriage – was a fellow guest when Lady Anne triumphed on , drawing amazed gasps and whoops of laughter as she told the audience how her mother’s attempts at sex education revolved around her dog, Biscuit: ‘You remember Daddy’s labrador getting on top of Biscuit? Well.