Royal aide says Kate is 'fantastic' - but Fergie is 'less so'

Princess Margaret's lady-in-waiting has dubbed the Princess of Wales 'fantastic' but had a less glowing impression of the Duchess of York.

Lady Anne Glenconner, 92, who was raised at Holkham Hall in Norfolk, and was one of Queen Elizabeth II's six maids of honour at the late monarch's 1953 Coronation, praised Princess Catherine, 42, in a new interview.

However, while she considered the mother-of-three 'fantastic', she said that Sarah Ferguson is 'maybe less so'.

Speaking to The Times ahead of the release of her new book Picnic Papers, which delves into her love of dining al fresco, she said: 'The Princess of Wales is fantastic.

'Fergie, maybe less so. I think she's quite suited to Andrew. She must be because they live together.

Elsewhere, Anne praised the late Queen Elizabeth, saying she 'never put a foot wrong.'

The socialite added that Queen Elizabeth's coronation was the 'most marvellous' day of her life.

Anne's comments on Kate are not the only thoughts she's vocalised about a royal wife, with her last year voicing her opinions on Meghan Markle.

She said the Duchess of Sussex thought she would be 'riding around in a golden coach' after her marriage to Prince Harry and did not know what duties were expected of her.

The British socialite added that she feels 'very sorry' for her husband, and said this opinion is also felt in America.

Speaking on the Rosebud with Gyles Brandreth podcast, Lady Glenconner said: 'I think the thing about Meghan was, she had no idea what was expected of her really.

'I think she just thought it was sort of like being another actress, you know. Riding around in a golden coach and everything like that. And actually, being a member of the Royal Family - a lot of it is extremely boring.'

Lady Glenconner said members of the Royal Family are expected to meet thousands of people and to say something interesting and nice to each person.

Discussing the King's Coronation, Lady Glenconner said she sat next to American politician John Kerry, 80.

The socialite, born Anne Tennant, said she asked him: 'What do you think in America about Harry and Meghan?'.

She continued: 'He said ''We all feel very, very sorry for Harry. I think I can just leave it at that.''

When Lady Glenconner attended the King's Coronation last year, she was one of just a handful of people in Westminster Abbey who had been there 70 years earlier too.

Because in 1953, Anne Coke, as she was then, was maid of honour to Queen Elizabeth II when she was crowned as millions watched on television.

Back then, the much-loved aristocrat was three years away from marrying the man who would define her life.

Colin Tennant, the 3rd Baron Glenconner, subjected his wife to sadistic beatings and was a flagrant adulterer - but the couple stayed married for 54 years until his death in 2010.

Lady Glenconner, who for decades served as a lady-in-waiting to Princess Margaret, has also endured the pain of losing two of her five children.

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Born on July 16, 1932 as Anne Veronica Coke to The Hon. Thomas Coke and Lady Elizabeth, she spent her much of her childhood on the family estate, Holkham Hall, in Norfolk.

As a child, she spent time playing with young Princess Elizabeth and Margaret, both at her home and at Sandringham, which is a few miles from Holkham Hall.

She met her husband at a debutante ball at the Ritz during the summer of 1955 and quickly fell in love. The couple married the following year.

Lady Glenconner shared in her 2022 memoir Whatever Next?: Lessons from an Unexpected Life, how Tennant was shockingly violent at times.

His worst rages came after he bought the Caribbean island of Mustique in 1958, a decision Lady Glenconner later described as a 'great leap into the unknown'.