Anne Veronica Coke was born in 1932 to the 5th Earl of Leicester. Her father was the equerry to King George VI from the time of her birth until 1952. She was raised at Holkham Hall in Norfolk. Due to her father's position with the royal family, she was able to meet both Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret. She served as a maid of honor at the coronation of Elizabeth II. Aside from her proximity to Elizabeth II and Princess Margaret, whom she also served as a lady in waiting, she had a pretty interesting life. One of the most interesting things that I learned about her was that she was engaged to a man who would later be the father of Diana, Princess of Wales. His father objected to the engagement, due to Anne's ancestry. She was related to some relatives of Elizabeth II who were institutionalized, and he did not want any "mad blood" in his family. (Funny that his granddaughter would procreate with a member of the family anyway, adding the "mad blood" later on.) Anne wound up marrying Colin Tennant, 3rd Baron Glenconner, making her Lady Glenconner.

I looked Lady Glenconner up after I finished this to see if she was still alive. She is, and is currently 91 years old. I also looked up the relatives that were institutionalized and more about that, so if you have not heard of Katherine Bowes-Lyon and Nerissa Bowes-Lyon...do look into their stories. This book was really interesting to me, because I have a deep interest in family dynasties, royals, and nobles. I liked the first person perspective on several historical events and figures. This was a little more intimate than a lot of other books I have read about the royal family. I really enjoyed it