Princess Diana’s former lady-in-waiting and loyal friend banned from driving after being caught speeding

A former lady-in-waiting of Princess Diana has been banned from driving for six months and told to pay hundreds in fines. 

Anne Beckwith-Smith, 74, drove 36mph in a 30 zone in her blue Audi Q2 in Wiltshire in August 2024, Lavender Hill magistrates’ court heard this week. 

Anne, who lives in South Kensington in London, was handed the ban on April 8, despite asking for an exemption on the grounds of needing to care for her older brother. 

She told magistrates that removing her licence would be “rather catastrophic” as Salisbury, where her brother lives in care, has poor public transport links. When questioned by the court, she admitted there was a bus stop outside the family home and that she could afford to take taxis. 

She told the court: “I apologise for wasting all your time with this, but I think it’s important to stress it would be a hardship for my brother.”

However, magistrates refused her request for an exemption. She was also ordered to pay a fine of £307, costs of £130, and £123 victim surcharge.

The offence gave her 12 penalty points, in addition to nine points from previously existing traffic offences, leading to a six-month ban. 

Who is Princess Diana’s lady in waiting, Anne Beckwith-Smith?

Anne was the late Princess of Wales’s longest-serving lady-in-waiting, taking on the role from 1981 until her 1997 death in a car accident in Paris. 

By 1986, she also served as assistant private secretary. In 1990, she was appointed a Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order in recognition of her service. Later, she worked for the Tate Modern.

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As is typical for ladies-in-waiting, she joined Diana on tours abroad, including a visit to Canada with the then-Prince Charles in 1983. 

She even featured in a 2017 BBC documentary about the late royal, Diana, 7 Days, which also starred Diana’s brother, Earl Spencer, and her sister, Lady Sarah McCorquodale.

Changing centuries of tradition

Traditionally, ladies-in-waiting were personal attendants to female members of the royal family. They would often accompany the late Queen and Diana on royal tours and official duties, acting as a secretary and aide. 

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They were hand-picked by the royal women themselves, becoming close companions and friends, managing wardrobes and helping the royals to dress. 

The Queen’s ladies-in-waiting were Dame Mary Morrison, Lady Elizabeth Leeming, Susan Rhodes, Dame Annabel Whitehead and Lady Susan Hussey.

However, Queen Camilla scrapped the position in 2022, in what was seen as a modernising move at the time. Kate, the Princess of Wales, was allowed to appoint ladies in waiting when she married into the royal family, but she also chose not to.