Queen’s dresser Angela Kelly has letter giving approval to publish books, friends claim

The late Queen’s former dresser is holding an extraordinary trump card over King Charles as she seeks to publish another Royal book, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.

Angela Kelly has told friends that the Queen wrote her a remarkable letter granting express approval for her to publish three books. Only two have so far appeared.

The Mail on Sunday revealed last week that Ms Kelly, 65, has signed a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) with the King in exchange for a grace-and-favour home, believed to be near the Peak District.

It was thought that the NDA –which bans Ms Kelly from using the terms ‘Palace’ and ‘King’, although it is much wider than that – could have scuppered Ms Kelly’s wishes to publish another book.

Charles is understood to feel that Ms Kelly’s last book strayed too far into personal details when she wrote about the Queen’s moment of private contemplation after Prince Philip’s funeral two years ago.

But the late Queen’s dresser told friends that Elizabeth II wrote her an approval letter to do so

Sources speculate that the Queen’s document could even take precedence over the NDA

King Charles agreed to buy Ms Kelly a house to live in that will revert to the Crown upon her death

But sources close to Ms Kelly reveal today that the docker’s daughter from Liverpool, who came to be one of the most powerful courtiers at Buckingham Palace, had an all-important written go-ahead from the late Queen.

They speculate that the private document could even take precedence over the NDA.

A source said: ‘It’s certainly a formidable weapon in her arsenal to have a letter like that from Queen Elizabeth II in her possession. It’s quite something because it seems she is protecting her favoured assistant from beyond the grave. It is pretty important because it includes the Queen’s wishes, and no one would want to ignore those.’

The King agreed to buy Ms Kelly a house to live in that will revert to the Crown upon her death. She previously had a grace-and-favour home on the Windsor Estate.

She surprised some in the Royal Family by writing two books during the Queen’s life. She published Dressing The Queen in 2012.

The Queen was so supportive of her writing that she attended the launch of Ms Kelly’s 2019 book, The Other Side Of The Coin: The Queen, The Dresser And The Wardrobe.

But the second edition, after Prince Philip died, angered Charles, who felt it was too intimate.

Friends have said Ms Kelly, who was nicknamed AK-47 at Buckingham Palace because of what some saw as her abrasive approach, was considering giving lucrative talks on cruise liners – a career move that could be affected by the NDA.