The Queen’s right-hand woman has revealed the monarch had a moment of quiet reflection when she returned to Windsor Castle after the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral.
Angela Kelly, who has been the Queen’s stylist for more than 30 years, shares her insight on the difficult period in Her Majesty’s life in an update to her memoirs, The Other Side Of The Coin: The Queen, The Dresser And The Wardrobe.
‘I helped her off with her coat and hat and no words were spoken. The Queen then walked to her sitting room, closed the door behind her, and she was alone with her own thoughts,’ Kelly writes in an extract published by Hello! magazine.
Kelly, who is also a personal assistant, was among the trusted aides who formed part of HMS Bubble – the core royal household who stayed with the Queen and Prince Philip during lockdown.
The Queen’s right-hand woman has revealed the monarch had a moment of quiet reflection when she returned to Windsor Castle after the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral, pictured
The advisor, pictured in 2018, recounted how the emotionally charged moment unfolded in an update to her memoirs The Other Side Of The Coin: The Queen, The Dresser And The Wardrobe, which will be released ahead of the Platinum Jubilee on May 12
It meant they were also by the monarch’s side when her husband died, and she said goodbye to him at the small funeral.
Speaking of the day the Duke of Edinburgh died, Kelly said the atmosphere among staff staying in Windsor was ‘sombre,’ and that only a few members of staff were told the news, after the members of the royal family were told first.
On the day of the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral in Windsor, members of staff were allowed to stand outside the Augusta Tower door, opposite St George’s Hall.
‘The Queen’s dressers, pages, chefs, housemaids, footmen and Castle attendants all stood to attention as The Duke of Edinburgh’s coffin was carefully placed onto the Land Rover that he had specially designed for the day,’ Angela recalls.
She added that staff members were visibly grief-stricken and that there thoughts must have been with the Queen as she said goodbye to her husband of 73 years.
Angela also added that fellow members of staff felt the pain of the valet walking behind the Duke’s coffin during the funeral procession, because it was ‘it was hard to watch our own friends saying goodbye to their amazing boss.’
Angela details the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral and secrets of the Queen’s attire in her eye-opening revised book
The Queen and three-times-divorced Miss Kelly – a Roman Catholic crane driver’s daughter from Liverpool – have spent the past 20 years forging an intriguingly close relationship.
The dresser’s influence now extends to the younger Royals – with Prince George christened in a lengthy robe made by Miss Kelly, who learnt sewing from her mother and aunt.
She is so close to the Monarch that she has written two books with the Queen’s approval and lives in a grace-and-favour home in the grounds of Windsor Castle. The Queen has been spotted ‘nipping in for tea’.
Ms Kelly rarely gives interviews but she once disclosed: ‘We are two typical women. We discuss clothes, make-up, jewellery.’
Kelly was given the Queen’s blessing to publish the first edition of The Other Side Of The Coin: The Queen, The Dresser And The Wardrobe in 2019
This revised edition, which will be released ahead of the Platinum Jubilee, also covers the first public engagements post-lockdown and looks ahead to the celebrations in June.
The title, published on May 12 by HarperCollins, reveals some of the behind-the-scenes tricks used for the monarch’s attire.
She sews in extra layers of lining to cushion the impact of beading and crystals on the Queen’s back when events require glamorous gowns.
Tiny weights are also put into day-wear hemlines in case of windy weather and fabrics that crumple or could potentially develop messy loose strands are avoided.
Ms Kelly, who has the same size feet as the Queen, wears in the monarch’s handmade new shoes to ensure they are comfortable when first used.
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