Princess Margaret's lady-in-waiting details her 34-year extramarital affair

Lady Anne Glenconner tin vividly callback 1 of nan last moments she spent pinch her hubby of 54 years.

The 90-year-old, a lady-in-waiting to Princess Margaret for 3 decades, looked aft Lord Colin Tennant, nan Baron Glenconner, arsenic he battled prostate cancer.

"We had abstracted bedrooms," she recalled to Fox News Digital. "I was very upset… and I was crying softly to myself. I didn’t deliberation he could perceive that. He did. He came successful and he hugged me. It was nan first clip successful years that he touched me. He said, ‘Was it each bad, Anne?’ I said, ‘No, of people it wasn’t each bad. A batch of it was fine.’ But it was very touching. I ever remembered that. And it was a awesome point to happen."

Lady Anne Glenconner was 1 of Queen Elizabeth II's maids of grant astatine her coronation successful 1953. (Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)

The British aristocrat passed distant successful 2010 astatine property 83. Glenconner, who wrote a book successful 2020 astir her relationship pinch Queen Elizabeth II’s younger sister, has written a follow-up published connected Feb. 21 titled "Whatever Next? Lessons from an Unexpected Life," which specifications her troubled marriage. Glenconner, who was inspired by Queen Consort Camilla and her activity pinch home unit victims, decided to yet travel guardant pinch her story. She said her 3 children supported her decision. Her eldest 2 sons passed distant successful nan 1990s.

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Queen Elizabeth II was crowned successful 1953. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

"[In my first book] I made ray of a batch of things," Glenconner admitted. "I didn’t opportunity everything I really wanted to say… [But] I was influenced, I supposed, by nan Queen Consort, who has done truthful overmuch for battered wives and women who are abused. And I had a talk pinch my children… That’s why I did it."

The erstwhile Lady Anne Coke is nan eldest girl of nan 5th Earl of Leicester. (Apic/Getty Images)

Glenconner is nan eldest girl of nan 5th Earl of Leicester and was puerility friends pinch some nan queen and Margaret. She went connected to go a maid of grant at nan queen’s coronation successful 1953. Glenconner joined Tennant, nan charming and charismatic friend of Margaret’s, successful 1956.

Lady Anne Glenconner joined Colin Tennant successful 1956. (PA Images via Getty Images)

"He was rather different from anybody other I’d ever met," she said. "He was attractive, he was funny. He was afloat of awesome ideas and conscionable made maine spot that my life could beryllium different. It could beryllium a awesome adventure. And I wholly fell for him. He was besides a awesome friend of Princess Margaret. He was 1 of nan young men she went retired with. And I was ever alternatively amazed that he chose me, that he really wanted to wed me. And a batch of nan clip we were very happy."

But according to Glenconner, it didn’t return agelong for her to spot her spouse’s acheronian side.

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"I had seen him suffer his temper earlier we sewage married," she said. "He ever said, ‘The infinitesimal we’re married, I won’t request to suffer my temper.’ Which, of course, I believed. But he mislaid his temper connected our honeymoon. His committedness of not to suffer his temper didn’t past long."

Colin Tennant, friend of Princess Margaret, and Lady Anne Coke arsenic they denote their engagement connected Dec. 16, 1955. (Norman Potter/Central Press/Getty Images)

Glenconner alleged that Tennent was physically abusive down closed doors. She described him arsenic having convulsive outbursts. He would allegedly shriek astatine her and propulsion things successful her direction. She claimed successful nan book that astatine 1 point, he hit her pinch a stick, leaving her deaf successful 1 ear. The onslaught successful question, she claimed, was ne'er repeated. She besides suspected that he erstwhile spiked her portion truthful she could loosen up successful nan bedroom.

Colin Tennant and Lady Anne Glenconner extracurricular nan London nursing location pinch their first babe Charles. (PA Images via Getty Images)

"The problem was 1 ne'er knew erstwhile he would suffer his temper," she explained. "And that made it very exhausting to beryllium pinch him."

Glenconner said she felt arsenic if she was "treading connected eggshells" passim her marriage. The family nanny, Barbara Barnes, who later became a nanny to Princes William and Harry, kept nan young children successful nan acheronian astir nan tumultuous union.

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Barbara Barnes was later chosen by then-Prince Charles and Princess Diana to beryllium nan royal nanny for Prince William and Prince Harry. (PA Images via Getty Images)

"I was brought up rather old-fashioned, I suppose," she reflected. "We were brought up [with nan idea] that you instrumentality pinch things. When I went backmost to my mother erstwhile and said, ‘Look, I don’t deliberation I tin cope,’ she said, ‘You’re joined Anne, you’ll spell consecutive back.’ And I did. And you know, group didn’t divorcement truthful overmuch erstwhile I was young. We stuck pinch it. We tried to make nan champion of it."

According to Glenconner, Tennant had galore mistresses. To cope, she turned to a adjacent friend, who was besides married. It resulted successful a 34-year affair. Glenconner has ne'er named her lover.

"I mislaid my spot successful men," she said. "We saw each different erstwhile a week. We had luncheon and nan occasional weekend. But he gave maine backmost [my trust]. And I realized that men tin beryllium wonderful, that men could beryllium kind, and each that. He made truthful overmuch quality successful my life."

Lady Anne Glenconner had a decades-long matter to header pinch her tumultuous marriage. She said akin arrangements were rather communal among nan elite. (Evening Standard/Getty Images)

Glenconner said her lover’s woman was alert of nan arrangement. Affairs among nan precocious crust were very common, she pointed out. And erstwhile nan enigma man was connected his deathbed, his woman invited Glenconner to travel to opportunity goodbye.

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"I didn’t cognize she was going to inquire me, but I [was] truthful pleased erstwhile she did," said Glenconner. "She sent maine a memento aft he died… I deliberation she astir apt had immoderate of her own. That’s what group utilized to do successful marriages. That’s really they kept marriages together, really. People had affairs. And yet, we carried on. It was an replacement to divorce."

Glenconner besides recovered solace successful her relationship pinch Margaret, who was struggling successful her ain marriage. She and nan Earl of Snowden had their ain extramarital affairs earlier they yet divided successful 1978.

Princess Margaret, center, pinch Lord Colin Tennant and Lady Anne Glenconner successful nan West Indies. The royal yacht Britannia is successful nan background. (Ron Bell - PA Images/PA Images via Getty Images)

"[Princess Margaret] knew Colin had a unspeakable temper," she said. "He utilized to suffer his temper successful beforehand of her. So she knew it. Once, he was peculiarly atrocious to maine and I started to cry. She said to me, ‘Anne, there’s perfectly nary constituent successful crying. Come on. Brace up, man up.’ She was very practical. She said, ‘You mustn’t fto him spot he has this effect connected you. You’ve sewage to beryllium stronger.' And she was successful a very difficult matrimony herself… [And] for 1 awesome year, I lived pinch her… We would conscionable talk and talk. And successful nan end, erstwhile I left, she said, ‘I really enjoyed having you, Anne. We sewage connected truthful well. So much amended than our atrocious husbands.’ We conscionable had to laugh. You person to laugh. Otherwise, life is impossible."

Princess Margaret (1930 - 2002) pinch Colin Tennant, 3rd Baron Glenconner, connected nan Caribbean land of Mustique, which Glenconner owns, February 1989. (Slim Aarons/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

During nan last years of her marriage, Glenconner resided successful England while her hubby stayed successful nan West Indies. Tennant spent immense amounts of his luck connected transforming Mustique, a mini land successful nan Caribbean, into a statement edifice for nan rich | and famous. He paid astir $54,000 for nan land successful 1958, nan New Yorker reported.

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"I stayed pinch Colin," she said. "We were joined for 54 years, but I wouldn’t urge it to anybody else. But I deliberation that we were fortunate toward nan end, especially. We didn’t walk a awesome woody of clip together… We said to each different connected nan telephone frequently, 2 aliases 3 times a week."

Colin Tennant and his woman Anne, connected nan land of Mustique, which he owned, circa 1973. (Slim Aarons/Getty Images)

But Glenconner said she received a last rustle from her hubby erstwhile he passed away. According to reports, he trim her from his will and instead, near a sizable magnitude of his luck to his devoted valet Kent Adonai. It resulted successful a ineligible battle pinch Tennant’s grandson.

Lord Colin Tennant astatine location successful St.Lucia. He died location successful 2010 astatine property 83. (David Howells/Corbis via Getty Images)

"I sewage complete everything else, much aliases less," she said. "All his backstage things should person gone to nan children and me. And I minded astir that. I didn’t cognize really to return it, really couldn’t judge it… After 7 years… we took it to tribunal and [my grandson] sewage half of it back. So thing came back."

Today, life for Glenconner has been "wonderful." Since sharing her story, she's received countless letters from women who’ve besides endured struggles successful their marriages. She’s besides penned 2 historical novels. Her caller book offers a database of addresses for those "who are going done a difficult time," including SafeLives, a kindness nan queen consort supports.

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Queen Consort Camilla inspired Lady Anne Glenconner to show her story. (Finnbarr Webster - WPA Pool / Getty Images)

"I’ve ne'er been truthful happy," she said. "Walking distant from a matrimony tin beryllium rather difficult for galore reasons. And I dream my communicative helps others recognize they’re not alone."

If you aliases personification you cognize is suffering from abuse, please interaction nan National Sexual Assault Hotline astatine 1-800-656-4673.