'Loyal to the end': Queen's 'favorite dresser' Angela Kelly allowed to keep staying at grace-and-favor home
LONDON, ENGLAND: One of the Queen's closest associates has reportedly been granted permission to continue living at her grace-and-favor home in Windsor. Angela Kelly, a docker's daughter from Liverpool, started out at the Royal Household as an assistant dresser before becoming crucial to the monarch. She was rewarded with a gracious residence near Windsor Castle.
After the Queen's reign ends, her employees usually have only a month of notice before being either redeployed to another Royal household or forced to find new work. However, it now appears that the Queen had given her permission for Kelly to remain in her grace-and-favor home after her death.
RELATED NEWS
Late Queen’s dresser Angela Kelly reveals light-hearted April Fool’s Day prank she pulled on monarch
Queen Elizabeth II is dead, longest-reigning monarch was 96 years old
Kelly was the late monarch's favorite, and as a result, she received special permission to sign a deal for three books. Two of those memoirs have already been released, and a third is yet to come out. An insider said, "The Queen was very clear that she was close to Angela and wanted to look after her people," Daily Mail reported.
Initially hired for her fashion knowledge, Kelly was rumored to want to spend some time in America now that the Queen has passed away. Her relationship with the monarch, however, quickly became close. Palace sources claimed that Kelly was frequently spotted sitting with the Queen as her mobility declined, making her laugh and updating the ageing ruler on the most recent television soap opera plot twists.
Kelly eventually sat with the Queen at Windsor as her schedule of public appearances diminished due to her mobility issues. One source stated, "The Prince of Wales came in one day to see his mother and was surprised that Angela had her own rooms there where she would watch the television rather loudly."
According to sources, Kelly gradually assumed more of a lady-in-waiting role. She would carry, fetch, and even give advice. Along with what the monarch wore, some of the Queen's public appearances reflected the influence of the docker's daughter from Liverpool.
Kelly was the one who suggested the Queen visit the Manchester Coronation Street set when the ITV studio celebrated its 60th anniversary in July 2021. The Queen wore an Angela Kelly outfit in a bold teal with a matching hat. In 'The Other Side Of The Coin', Kelly's second memoir, she revealed this amusing story. Kelly wrote, "She doesn't watch Coronation Street, but I filled her in. I was thrilled that the Queen chose my outfit and my hat to wear for the event. I was so giddy you'd think I was walking on hot sand." She recalled she was selected to accompany the Queen that day.
The book also describes how, during the lockdown, Kelly and a group of staff members created HMS Bubble, a Covid-free ring around the Queen intended to keep her safe while continuing to take care of her comfort. Kelly, who began working for the Royal Household in 1994, says that the staff participated in the "Bubble Olympics," a set of events that included a rounders competition, a sprint relay, and a game involving water-filled balloons.
Kelly stayed by the Queen's side when her health started to deteriorate. During the lockdown, she established "Kelly's Salon," becoming the Queen's personal hairdresser, dresser, and assistant.