The Queen Made A Very Special Decision Regarding Royal Aide Angela Kelly's Home Before Her Death
Queen Elizabeth II’s most trusted confidante, personal advisor and curator, Angela Kelly, moved to Windsor Castle earlier this year to be closer to the Queen following her decision to permanently move away from Buckingham Palace.
However, following the Queen’s passing on Thursday, September 8, questions were raised as to where Kelly would live now that Her Majesty has passed.
According to the Mail on Sunday, before her death the Queen gave Kelly permission to stay in her home at Windsor Castle following her passing.
Other staff who worked for the Queen are believed to have a month's notice after the end of her reign, before they will be redeployed to another Royal household or required to search for alternative employment.
The publication reports Queen Elizabeth II had also previously granted Kelly permission to secure a three-book deal of memoirs about her time working for the royals.
The Mail reports Kelly, from Liverpool, began work as an assistant dresser at the Royal Household before forming a close personal and professional relationship with the Queen. In the years that followed, Kelly was given what is known as a ‘grace-and-favour home’, which was a short walk from Windsor Castle. In May, she moved into a suite next to the Queen’s, which reportedly had a 42-inch television, per The Sun.
An insider said of the move: 'The Queen was very clear that she was close to Angela and wanted to look after her people.'
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Kelly previously explained in a memoir that she a team of royal staff formed 'HMS Bubble' (a cluster of people outside the royal household with whom the Queen felt comfortable spending time with during the global health crisis) around Her Majesty, which was designed to keep her safe.
Kelly, who began working in the Royal Household in 1994, has also written about the way staff took part in what they dubbed the 'Bubble Olympics', a series of activities including a rounders tournament, sprint relay and a game with balloons filled with water. The Queen is believed to have awarded trophies to the winners of such games following the competition.
‘I love the Queen and everything about her,’ Kelly reportedly once told The Telegraph. ‘She has allowed me to become closer to her over the years. I would never overstep the mark and I remain in awe of the Queen.
‘We are two typical women. We discuss clothes, make-up, jewellery. We say, “Would this piece of jewellery look nice with that outfit?”’
Kelly previously wrote in one of her memoirs that she has been known to wear in the Queen’s shoes.
‘As has been reported a lot in the press, a flunky wears Her Majesty’s shoes to ensure that they are comfortable and that she is always good to go,’ she wrote one of her books. ‘And yes, I am that flunky.’
The Queen’s coffin is currently in Edinburgh, Scotland and will soon be transported to Westminster Hall, the oldest part of the Palace of Westminster, London to be on view to the public. It will be guarded by members of the armed forces and lie in state for four days before her funeral on Monday, September 19.
Here is more information about the Queen’s funeral, mourning period and King Charles’ coronation.
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