Lady Anne Glenconner has revealed how a young Prince Charles caused mischief on the Queen’s Coronation Day by nearly dropping her crown.
The former lady-in-waiting, 88, who served as a maid of honour at the Coronation of Elizabeth II in 1953, recalled the moment during the podcast My Life in Seven Charms with British jeweller Annoushka Ducas.
She explained that a five-year-old Charles ‘made a beeline’ for the weighty Imperial State Crown after Her Majesty had placed it on a table ahead of the ceremony at Westminster Abbey… before Lady Glenconner’s mother had to step in and take it away from the curious prince.
One is a little bored! Former lady-in-waiting Lady Anne Glenconner has revealed how a young Prince Charles (pictured middle at the age of five) almost caused a calamity on the Queen’s Coronation Day in 1953 by nearly dropping her 2.5lb crown
Lady Anne, pictured with Prince Charles, is the daughter of the 5th Earl of Leicester and grew up living next to Queen Elizabeth and her sister Princess Margaret at Holkham Hall in Norfolk
‘She took it off, put it on a table and Prince Charles made a beeline for it’, said Lady Glenconner.
‘And we thought he was going to drop it. We thought, “Oh my goodness, that would be a bad omen”. But luckily, I think my mother seized it from him and took it away.’
The Imperial State Crown contains 2,868 diamonds, 273 pearls, 17 sapphires and 17 emeralds and Baroness Glenconner admitted that she was never tempted to touch the Crown Jewel.
‘I wouldn’t dare touch it. No, no – completely sacred’, she said.
Made in 1937, the piece was lightened and ‘feminised’ when she took the throne, and in recent years there have been fears it is too heavy for the monarch to wear in her advancing years.
Lady Anne, pictured second from the right in the Green Drawing Room of Buckingham Palace, served as a maid of honour at the Coronation of Elizabeth II in 1953
Made in 1937, the crown was lightened and ‘feminised’ when she took the throne. Pictured, Queen Elizabeth II wearing the Imperial State Crown as she waved with the Duke of Edinburgh on her coronation day
Lady Glenconner told that the crown is so heavy, Her Majesty would have to hold a piece of paper to her face while rehearsing speeches, because her ‘neck would break’ if she looked down in the crown.
‘Well, she used to wear it when she was writing letters,’ she said. ‘I think Prince Charles says he remembers going in and seeing her wearing it. And asked her why she’s wearing it. And she said she was practicing.
‘You can’t look down to read the speech, you have to take the speech up. Because if you did, your neck would break – it would fall off’.
The Imperial State Crown contains 2,868 diamonds, 273 pearls, 17 sapphires and 17 emeralds and Baroness Glenconner, pictured on ITV’s This Morning last year, admitted that she was never tempted to touch the Crown Jewel
‘So there are some disadvantages to crowns, but otherwise they’re quite important things.
Lady Anne, who is the daughter of the 5th Earl of Leicester, grew up living next to Queen Elizabeth and her sister Princess Margaret at Holkham Hall, which neighboured Sandringham.
She became great friends with Margaret, and was her lady-in-waiting until the royal’s death in 2002 and earlier this year revealed how the spirited royal ‘loved’ dancing to reggae music, and would shush the Queen if she interrupted her during The Archers.
Appearing on Lorraine Lady Anne told how she had to smooth things over with a cup of tea after the Princess refused to speak to the Queen while listening to Radio 4.
Princess Margaret’s closest confidante Lady Anne Glenconner told how she had to smooth over a spat that occurred over The Archers when the Queen came to visit her younger sister (pictured together in 1948)
Lady Glenconner explained that once while Margaret was ill, she had to resolve a spat between the two sisters with a ‘cup of tea’ after Margaret told the Queen to be quiet.
‘Princess Margaret was in bed and the Queen came and I waited in the drawing-room and I soon heard her come downstairs.
‘I said “Is everything okay?” she said, “No it, isn’t, Princess Margaret is listening to the Arches and every time I say something she tells me to shush”.
‘So I went off and turned the wireless off and we made a cup of tea, but it all ended all right.’