LONDON
— Lady Elizabeth Anson, Queen Elizabeth II’s cousin and her party
planner for more than 50 years, was raised in a Downton Abbey-like home
where servants ironed the newspapers, and was married at Westminster
Abbey.
But
on a recent Friday, Lady Elizabeth — the orchestrator of some of
Britain’s most aristocratic parties — was in her white-azalea-filled
sitting room. She was wearing a gray Tomasz Starzewski jacket bought on
sale more than 40 years ago, drinking tea from a purple-flowered tankard
(an eBay find) and discussing her recovery from her weekly lottery
ticket-buying addiction.
“I
still do a lucky dip if it’s a huge amount of money,” said Lady
Elizabeth, who has also organized events for Tom Cruise and other
celebrities seeking discretion.
On
her feet were what looked like Roger Vivier court shoes, but when a
reporter suggested she might like to remove whatever was stuck to the
bottom of them before having her photograph taken, Lady Elizabeth, 75,
handed the footwear to her liveried butler. “Certainly, my lady,” he
said, before getting rid of the price tags that revealed that the shoes
cost £25 (about $35).
“Marks & Spencer’s best,” Lady Elizabeth said, looking delighted at this evidence of her frugality.
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