Who Is Angela Kelly?

You might well ask!

Well, the Daily Telegraph helped us find out more:

Few would be so bold as to refuse to answer a question from Her Majesty the Queen.

But when Her Majesty first met Angela Kelly, a Liverpudlian (someone from Liverpool, like the Beatles) dockers daughter working as a housekeeper at the British Ambassador’s residence in Berlin, their unusual exchange would prove pivotal for both. 

As the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh bid farewell to the household staff following an official visit, the monarch politely asked who their next visitors would be.

The royal couple were taken aback when the reply came; Ms Kelly could not possibly divulge such information as it was confidential.

The incredulous Duke tried again; “Surely you can tell Her Majesty the Queen?” he said.

But Ms Kelly again replied that she had signed the Official Secrets Act and simply could not help them.

As she said goodbye, she told the Queen she would remember the moment for the rest of her life. “Angela, so will I,” came the reply.

Indeed, just a few weeks later, she received a call to say that Her Majesty had asked if she would consider coming to work at Buckingham Palace as her assistant dresser and 25 years later she has become one of the Queen’s closest confidantes. 

Their warm friendship is detailed at length in Ms Kelly’s book, The Other Side of the Coin, the Queen, the Dresser and the Wardrobe, published yesterday, which offers an unrivaled insight into life behind palace walls. 

According to Town and Country magazine:
“Queen Elizabeth has granted personal permission to Angela Kelly, who has served as her dresser and confidant for 25 years, to write a book not only about royal fashion, but also about their experience working together. Per Harper Collins, which will publish the book next month, this marks the first time a serving member of the royal household has been given such permission.”

The book is brimming with stories about how the Queen’s wardrobe is carefully curated, from set piece occasions such as Trooping the Colour to the moments when things have not gone quite according to plan, such as the time Her Majesty was persuaded to make a last minute decision to wear a hat back to front.

Ms Kelly is forthright in her opinions and is not one for holding back if she feels something is not quite right. She reveals that when the Queen’s private secretaries dismissed her suggestion that the monarch should wear a black dress to meet the Pope in 2000, she was convinced they had not done their homework and were offering “bad advice”.

As such, she had a dress made up in secret, concerned that if the monarch turned up to such an important event in a shocking pink day dress, “where would it all end?”

Ms Kelly was vindicated when one of the private secretaries came running down the corridor in the  Quirinale Palace bellowing her name and begging her for a black outfit, which she deftly produced. “I vividly remember the brief look of relief on The Queen’s face,” she says.

We think this book is going to be a great read!

In the name of all things regal, we are your Two Chums!