I Was Princess Margaret's Lady-in-Waiting and Am Telling All Her Royal Secrets – Including Our Boozy Near-Death Experience 

Lady Anne Glenconner has revealed how she and Princess Margaret narrowly escaped death during a terrifying flight through a thunderstorm – before the royal calmly suggested another drink.

The 93-year-old former lady-in-waiting recounts the ordeal in her new memoir Manners and Mischief, offering a rare, intimate glimpse into her decades-long friendship with the late Queen Elizabeth's younger sister.

Glenconner, who served Princess Margaret for more than 30 years, was a trusted confidante and traveling companion through some of the most glamorous – and turbulent – moments of royal life.

A maid of honor at Queen Elizabeth II's 1953 coronation and a lifelong member of Britain's aristocracy, she has become one of the last surviving witnesses to the golden age of royal excess and eccentricity.

Recalling the harrowing flight that nearly ended in disaster, Glenconner writes: "Once, we were flying to America and hit the most awful thunderstorm. I was clutching on to my seat and Princess Margaret looked at me and patted my hand and said: ‘Don't worry, Anne, we'll either die or we'll live and that's that, no point worrying about it, but I think perhaps we ought to have another drink.'"

A close friend of the royal family for most of her life, Glenconner paints a vivid portrait of Princess Margaret's wit, charm and unpredictability – qualities that made her both beloved and exasperating among palace insiders.

She describes her former employer as "by far the easiest guest," recalling how Margaret would bring her own maid when visiting Glenconner's homes in Norfolk or Scotland, freeing her hostess from any fuss.

"She liked her comforts, of course," Glenconner notes, "but she also had an incredible sense of fun."

One of her most memorable recollections is of a night in the Highlands when Margaret, dressed in a Victorian gown and bonnet, performed "Chattanooga Choo Choo" with her then-boyfriend Roddy Llewellyn following close behind. "A lot of these things she enjoyed even more because Roddy, who was also very enthusiastic, was there," Glenconner writes.

The book also revisits Margaret's secret trip to France to visit her exiled uncle, the Duke of Windsor, and his wife, Wallis Simpson – a journey kept hidden from the Queen Mother, who despised the couple. "It had to be kept secret as the Queen Mother would not have wanted Princess Margaret to go," Glenconner recalls. "She hated the Windsors… and blamed them for her husband having to become King and then dying prematurely."

During the visit, Glenconner faced a delicate dilemma over royal etiquette – whether to curtsy to the Duchess of Windsor, who had never been granted the title of HRH. "I asked Margaret what I should do," she writes. "She waited a moment and then said, ‘Oh, why not?' and so I did. I didn't give a deep curtsy, just a little bob, but I felt it was the right thing to do – a moment when strict etiquette was at odds with the needs of tact and diplomacy."

Away from official duties, Glenconner recalls the princess' love of cinema, particularly Bonnie and Clyde and Thelma and Louise, both stories of rebellion and escape. "It's interesting that they were both films about upending societal expectations," she observes.

Despite Margaret's reputation for being imperious, Glenconner insists the late royal possessed deep warmth and humor. "She used to loathe the unexpected," she says, adding: "But she loved the simple things – picnics, laughter, and, of course, a good drink."

Manners and Mischief by Lady Glenconner was released on November 6.