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In The Other Side of the Coin , The Queen has personally given Angela her blessing to share their extraordinary bond with the world. Whether it’s preparing for a formal occasion or brightening Her Majesty’s day with a playful joke, Angela’s priority is to serve and support. Sharing never-before-seen photographs – many from Angela’s own private collection – and charming anecdotes of their time spent together, this revealing book provides memorable insights into what it’s like to work closely with The Queen, to curate her wardrobe and to discover a true and lasting connection along the way. Angela Kelly lvo is Personal Advisor, Curator and Senior Dresser to Her Majesty The Queen (The Queen’s Jewellery, Insignias and Wardrobe), as well as In-house Designer. Angela started working in the Royal Household in 1994 as an Assistant Dresser and shares with you her unique perspective on her working life with Her Majesty The Queen. A Lovely account from Angela Kelly - The Queens PA and official dresser leads us into a glimpse of the household of our current Queen Elizabeth. As the senior dresser Angela Kelly describes her duties with the queen on a daily basis creating suitable fashions for all occasions. Full of beautiful photographs set in a world which we only know a fraction of.
Her Majesty is said to have told a lady-in-waiting that she was determined to keep busy as it helped her cope with Prince Philip's death. Not that she doesn't value discretion. She met the author during a royal visit to the British Embassy in Germany, where Kelly was the housekeeper. Asked about who would be the next guest there, Kelly refused to say, citing the pledge she had given not to divulge details of her duties. The Queen and Prince Philip were amused at Kelly's firmness, but they didn't forget it, either. Soon afterwards, she returned to England and was approached about a job in the Palace. The Royals like staff who can keep their mouths shut! Author Angela Kelly is front and center in charge of the royal wardrobe. No detail is too small. It took her and her amazing team two years to design, choose fabrics, and make the wardrobe a reality for both the Jubilee and the Olympics, where the eyes of the world would be on Queen Elizabeth. They did an outstanding job.Mary Angela Kelly, LVO (born 4 November 1957, Liverpool), is a British fashion designer, dressmaker, and milliner, who served as Personal Assistant and Senior Dresser to Queen Elizabeth II from 2002 to the Queen's death in 2022. Her official title is Personal Assistant, Adviser and Curator to Her Majesty The Queen (Jewellery, Insignias and Wardrobe). There's little about the Queen's relationship with her children or grandchildren, but Prince Philip plays a starring role. The author is an admirer of that controversial character, claiming that his value to the Queen was that he ALWAYS told her the truth. I loved his blunt opinion of an outfit done in a loud plaid. Suitable for covering the sofa, was the way he put it, saving his wife the embarrassment of appearing in clothing unsuited for her petite figure. The author is a professional royal family dresser. So she goes into the details of selecting costumes for the Queen and what she considered and discussed with the Queen while choosing each outfit. If you are someone who is reading this book just to know more about Queen and not a fashion aficionado and are not interested to know anything about her wardrobe, haute couture, and fashion, you will find some of these areas of this book boring.
I'm not a clothes horse OR a follower of the Royals, but I was fascinated by Kelly's stories of her childhood as one of six children in a working class family in Liverpool. She started working at age fifteen and married and had three children by the time she was in her twenties. She was divorced when she was hired to take charge of the Queen's wardrobe. Angela Kelly is no writer, there is no depth, no insight, no glimpses from the 'other side of the coin' of how the Queen "really" is. Since Angela makes a point of saying right at the beginning of how she is absolutely loyal to the official secrets act and would never breech confidentiality in even the smallest way all there is left to write about is the dresses. So that's what she writes about, since she did that already in another book, I ask myself, why was this book written? Angela was said to have dragged her feet in helping Meghan choose a tiara for their 2018 wedding day.
Angela is obviously a very important person in the Queens life and is involved in the fabric selection, the dress making, the alterations, hat design you name it. Even ironing on the Royal train.
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