Angela Kelly, the Queen’s dresser and confidante for more than 20 years, fears she may have to leave her grace-and-favour home, The Mail on Sunday understands.
Friends of Ms Kelly, a Liverpool docker’s daughter who became the Queen’s right-hand woman, worry she is another victim of the King’s ‘property merry-go-round’.
It had been understood that Ms Kelly, 65, would be given accommodation for life after her decades of loyalty to the late Queen.
But sources said last week they believed she had to vacate her modest semi-detached home on the Windsor Estate ‘within weeks’.
Ms Kelly has just been recognised by King Charles in special honours awards marking the death of the Queen. However, she only became a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order, rather than a Dame Commander as might have been expected.
It had been understood that Ms Kelly (pictured), 65, would be given accommodation for life after her decades of loyalty to the late Queen.
Angela Kelly right, the Queen’s (in light blue) dresser and confidante for more than 20 years, fears she may have to leave her grace-and-favour home
Friends of Ms Kelly, a Liverpool docker’s daughter who became the Queen’s right-hand woman, worry she is another victim of the King’s (pictured) ‘property merry-go-round’
‘She’s been told she will soon have to move out. It’s a nice little place on the Windsor Estate and it was convenient for seeing her grandson, who was at college nearby,’ a source said. Pictured: Windsor Castle’s inner courtyard
Many in the Royal Household were suspicious of her, and one insider pondered whether ‘scores were being settled’. A source said: ‘She’s been told she will soon have to move out. It’s a nice little place on the Windsor Estate and it was convenient for seeing her grandson, who was at college nearby.
‘But the King has made it clear that under the new reign people will have to cut their cloth. The King is clearly not in the habit of providing homes for those no longer working for the Monarchy.’
A Palace insider said the ‘writing was on the wall’ for Ms Kelly after the Queen died in September. Within days, the locks had been changed on all the cupboards to which she held keys.
She was nicknamed AK47 – a play on her initials and the Russian assault rifle – because of her rapid-fire temper. Three-times-married Ms Kelly is said to have thrown a bag of rubbish at a member of the catering staff after her lunch was served late before an investiture.
But her biggest mistake appears to have been to fall out with senior Royals. When Prince Harry said he visited his grandmother last year to ensure she was ‘protected’ and ‘had the right people around her’, it was seen as a swipe at Ms Kelly.
This followed reports of ‘Tiaragate’, in which Harry and Ms Kelly fell out over a tiara the prince’s then fiancee, Meghan Markle, was to wear at her wedding in 2018.
Meghan wanted it beforehand so she and her hairdresser could work out how best to wear it, but it is believed Ms Kelly stood in the way. Harry is said to have told her: ‘What Meghan wants, Meghan gets.’
He denied saying this in his memoir, Spare, but did write: ‘She [Ms Kelly] was being obstructive. Angela was a troublemaker and I didn’t need her as an enemy.’
When the King’s reign began, there was not an obvious new role for Ms Kelly. The Queen Consort already had a dresser. It was thought the Queen had made provision for Ms Kelly. Now, though, she could be cast out of the Royal fold.
Angela Kelly leaves Westminster Abbey during the State Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II on September 19, last year
In reports of ‘Tiaragate’, Prince Harry (left at his wedding) and Ms Kelly fell out over a tiara the prince’s then fiancee, Meghan Markle (right), was to wear at her wedding in 2018
Ms Kelly began working at the Palace after meeting the Queen and Prince Philip when they visited Berlin, where she was housekeeper for the British ambassador. She told them she wanted to return to Britain, and was later offered a job at the Palace. She became an assistant dresser to the Queen in 2002, and then principal dresser.
She was praised for overhauling the Queen’s image with outfits in eye-catching colours and matching hats. As the Queen’s health failed, Ms Kelly became more of a personal assistant. The Monarch once told her: ‘We could be sisters.’
There were rewards for her loyalty. Ms Kelly – who regularly wore in new shoes for the Queen as their feet were the same size – lived in a cottage on the Windsor Estate and in 2021 moved to another property.
In recognition of her work – and perhaps knowing that no such permission would be granted after she died – the Queen let her publish two books revealing details of her role – Dressing The Queen and The Other Side Of The Coin: The Queen, The Dresser And The Wardrobe.
Charles is understood to have been appalled at the intimate specifics, such as behind-the-scenes details of Prince Philip’s funeral.
When the Queen made Windsor Castle her home in her final year, Ms Kelly was given the neighbouring room. Charles is said to have felt she turned her TV up too loud.
Now, she has seemingly been stripped of the privileges of Palace life. But she may have the last laugh. Her publishing deal is for three books. Given how close she was to the Crown, the third one could be the most revealing yet.
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