Royal lady-in-waiting compares Prince Harry schism to struggle with own son: 'I write about forgiveness'

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EXCLUSIVE – Princess Margaret's lady-in-waiting Lady Anne Glenconner offered unique insight into the strained relationship between Prince Harry and the Royal Family, comparing it to the struggles she's faced with her own son and how she's had to forge her own path to forgiveness.

Glenconner made headlines in recent months for sounding off on Prince Harry's memoir, "Spare," telling Fox News Digital it was an "unfortunate" book. Princess Margaret, who was herself a "spare" who would not ascend to the throne, would "never" have written such a book, Glenconner said. While Prince Harry did show up for his father's coronation earlier this month, it was a brief trip. Harry flew back to California almost as soon as the ceremony concluded, having limited interaction with the rest of the Royal Family, according to reports.

"I think that he came," Glenconner told Fox News Digital. "He didn't stay any time at all, but he came."

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Lady Anne Glenconner celebrates her 90th birthday. (Photo credit: Nick Walter)

In her most recent book, "Whatever Next? Lessons from an Unexpected Life," Glenconner details several family tragedies, including how she lost two of her sons, Charlie and Henry, to hepatitis and AIDS, within six years of each other, and her son Christopher's near-fatal motorcycle accident in Central America. She gets candid in her book about how she had to learn to forgive Christopher for an accident that likely could have been prevented.

"My books, I mean, I write about forgiveness," Glenconner said. "That's one of the things I write about in my books, partly because of my son had his awful accident... and I was really, really appalled and upset with this boy, but I realized that until I forgave him, I couldn't move forward. You know, I couldn't help Christopher." 

"Forgiveness is a central message in the Christian faith and, while it is far from easy, I have learned it plays a huge part in getting through the pain and starting to heal," Glenconner writes in the chapter entitled "Mother" in her new book.

"When Christopher had his accident," she continues in the book, "I had to forgive him for ignoring my advice not to get on a motorbike. He had not worn a helmet. He was riding pillion at night, and they didn't see the roadworks they hit. More than that, I had to forgive the other boy involved who was driving the bike and only broke his shoulder."

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Britain's Prince Harry arrives at the Royal Courts Of Justice in London, Tuesday, March 28, 2023. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant) (Associated Press)

Glenconner said that once she realized she needed to let go of her anger, she found she was "so much freer to concentrate" on helping her son recover.

Of Harry and his family, Glenconner said she hopes there will be reconciliation, but at the moment she thinks it's "extremely difficult."

Glenconner recalled knowing Princes William and Harry as young boys, and marveled at how the latter's relationship with the family has deteriorated in the wake of his bombshell book.

"I used to know Harry, because my nanny, who looked after my children, Barbara Barnes, went on to look after William and Harry when they were small children," Glenconner told Fox Digital. "Princess Diana used to ask me and my twin daughters to go see Barbara… and he was such a nice little boy. Such a nice little boy. And I just feel, this whole issue is so bitter, isn't it? His book was so unfortunate. Why write a book like that?" 

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Glenconner mused that Harry, though a "spare," had a "wonderful life" and "could have made the most fantastic life for himself if he wanted to." 

Asked to respond to Harry and Meghan Markle's bombshell allegations about the Royal Family, Glenconner vehemently defended their integrity. Markle, who is biracial, alleged in a sit down interview with Oprah Winfrey that a member of the family once asked how dark their son's skin color would be, among other claims.

"I mean, as far as I can tell - and I know them quite well - there isn't a racist bone in their body," Glenconner said in defense of the family. 

"There are certain people in the world that just want to make trouble," she later continued of the criticism against King Charles and the Royal Family at large.

Lady Anne Glenconner and her husband Colin Tennant, the third Lord Glenconner, at their son Charlie's christening. (Henry Bush/ANL/Shutterstock)

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Glenconner's recent foray into becoming an author has been a successful one. Her first book, "Lady in Waiting: My Extraordinary Life in the Shadow of the Crown," was a surprise bestseller. Her fans have been on an emotional roller coaster learning about her difficult childhood under the hands of her governess Miss Bonner, her tumultuous marriage with her abusive husband Colin, while also dazzling readers with entertaining anecdotes of her experiences hosting grand parties and mingling with the Royal Family, as well as her longtime friendship with Princess Margaret.