Diamonds and Drama: Lady Glenconner’s Family Jewels Hit the Auction Block at Bonhams in London

LONDON — Anne Glenconner, the British aristocrat who’s been spilling about her extraordinary life in a series of bestselling memoirs, the latest of which landed on bookshelves earlier this month, is set to reveal more about her past with the upcoming sale of her jewelry at Bonhams in London.

Many of the jewels come with hefty names attached, including Cartier, Verdura, Andrew Grima and David Webb, but even the ones that aren’t branded tell equally rich stories about the 93-year-old Lady Glenconner, whose charmed life has been spiked with tragedy.

Glenconner famously spent more than three decades as lady in waiting — or hardworking personal assistant — for her childhood friend Princess Margaret. A mother of five, she also served as hostess in chief on the Caribbean island of Mustique, which her late husband Colin Tennant, 3^rd Baron Glenconner, purchased, and turned into a royal and celebrity playground.

In an interview, Glenconner said she’s eager to sell the pieces she no longer wears, including chunky rings set with coral and gemstones that are too large for her aging fingers, while she no longer has much use for the delicate star-studded tiara Colin bought for her after they were married.

They’re all part of the 20-lot sale that takes place on Dec. 11 at Bonhams on New Bond Street. Glenconner said she plans to give the proceeds to her children, and also set up a trust for her son Christopher Tennant, who was brain-damaged in a motorcycle accident in Belize in the 1980s.

In her first book, “Lady in Waiting: My Extraordinary Life in the Shadow of the Crown,” Glenconner writes about how she put her royal duties on hold and nursed her son back to life, despite doctors telling her nothing could be done to save him.

In that book, she also talks about the death of her two eldest sons from drug- and AIDS-related illnesses; the physical abuse she suffered at the hands of her husband and how Colin cut the family out of his will, leaving his multimillion-pound fortune to his valet.

Those disasters would have crushed many, but Glenconner is a survivor and considers herself one lucky lady.

“I’m very privileged to have had such an interesting life, being brought up in one of the bigger stately homes as a member of the aristocracy,” she said in an interview, referring to her family’s ancestral estate Holkham Hall in Norfolk, England. Her father was the 5^th Earl of Leicester, and her childhood playmates included Princess Elizabeth, the future queen, and Princess Margaret.

She was a maid of honor at Queen Elizabeth’s coronation in 1953, and later lived it up with Mick Jagger, Jerry Hall, David Bowie and a string of royals, actors and rich bohemians on Mustique, in between stints traveling the world with Princess Margaret.

“Sadly, on the flip side, I lost two of my sons and am now trying to raise money for [Christopher’s] appalling accident. But I’ve been extremely lucky, and I have stories that people want to hear,” said Glenconner.

Earlier this month, she sold other personal effects in a 108-lot auction that included a painting by Victor Pasmore, and her wedding gown by Norman Hartnell, the designer who created Queen Elizabeth’s wedding and coronation dresses. That auction raised more than 570,000 pounds, nearly double the pre-sale estimate.

Now it’s time for her jewelry to take the spotlight at Bonhams. The top lot is an antique diamond star tiara, which Colin bought for her shortly after they were married, and which carrires an estimate of 50,000 to 80,000 pounds. The delicate tiara has eight detachable starburst shapes that double as brooches.

Glenconner said she loves its lightness, versatility and shape. “Stars are lovely, and they never go out of fashion,” she said, adding that some may have even belonged to the queen of Bohemia. “They were definitely not new,” when Colin bought them, she said.

Glenconner said she got so much use out of the tiara. She wore it for official engagements with Princess Margaret, or popped the brooches on her evening gowns.

There’s also a ring by her old friend Fulco di Verdura, the aristocratic Sicilian jeweler and a favorite of Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel. The amethyst and diamond ring is set in gold and carries an estimate of 4,000 to 6,000 pounds. Verdura also designed Glenconner’s yellow and white diamond engagement ring although that’s not in the sale.

“He was a personal friend, and made me lovely rings. He used to talk to me, see what I wanted, and draw something. Then I’d make suggestions. We did things together, really,” she said.

Some of the lots were gifts, including the Art Deco Cartier diamond watch that Glenconner’s mother-in-law, Lady Pamela Winefred Tennant, gave her when she married, and the spectacularly bling-y Cartier evening clutch from Imelda Marcos.

Glenconner traveled to the Philippines in 1978, standing in for Princess Margaret, who had pneumonia. “I went to the Philippines with a letter from Princess Margaret, and Imelda Marcos treated me as if I was Princess Margaret,” during the trip, she said with a laugh.  

The textured silver clutch features a shield made from a brilliant-cut diamond and a cabochon-cut sapphire. It is priced between 800 and 1,200 pounds.

Glenconner said she’s happy the pieces will be “going on to new homes, and their stories will enter a new chapter.”

For those who can’t afford to buy into Glenconner’s colorful story via her jewelry, there are always her books. She’s now written six, including two novels, and the latest is another memoir, “Manners and Mischief: An A-Z of Royal Tales and Surprising Wisdom,” which is already a Sunday Times of London bestseller.

Glenconner said she’s really letting loose with this book.

“There are quite a few stories that I haven’t written about before. I thought ‘I’m 93 — I’m just going to write what I want.’ I’ve done it as an A to Z, because a lot of people don’t have a lot of time, and don’t want big books. It’s very easy. You can pick and choose what you want to read,” she said.

Despite all of her troubles, life remains an adventure for Glenconner. She started her writing career at the age of 87, and now finds herself corresponding with readers, and even trying to comfort them when tragedy strikes their own lives.

Although she’s been steeped in wealth, power and celebrity her whole life, she also knows how to keep things real.

“We were brought up during the war, and it was tough. There was rationing, we were hungry and there was no heating. I remember my mother saying how immensely lucky we were even to be able to go for a walk, so in the morning, in the summertime, I walk through the garden barefoot. I look at all the roses that have come out, and I’m really keen on birds too. I even have pair of binoculars,” said Glenconner, who can see color — and brightness — wherever she looks.