For more than 50 years, the Queen has rarely been seen in anything other than a pair of low-heeled black shoes.
Most of the time, she wears footwear by shoemaker Anello & Davide and reportedly calls her sensible black pairs her "work shoes". Like everyone else, the monarch runs the risk of suffering from pinching, rubbing or blisters whenever she wears a new pair of shoes. And the last thing she would want is painful feet caused by her footwear of choice. But luckily she has a way of ensuring this almost never happens thanks to a trick she employs with the help of her dresser and confidant Angela Kelly.
It had long been reported that Her Majesty employs an assistant to wear in her shoes.
But in her 2019 book, The Other Side of the Coin: The Queen, The Dresser and the Wardrobe, Angela confirmed the reports and revealed that she's the "flunky" who does it.
She writes: "The Queen has very little time to herself and not time to wear in her own shoes, and as we share the same shoe size it makes the most sense this way."
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The Queen has worked with Angela for decades and her official job title is personal assistant, adviser, and curator (jewellery, insignias, and wardrobe).
But she has also been described as a trusted confidante, friend and almost like a sister to the Queen.
And the monarch gave Angela her blessing to release her book, which charts her time as a royal dresser.
The 96-year-old head of state is currently at Balmoral in the Scottish Highlands enjoying her annual summer holiday.
But it was revealed earlier this week that her traditional welcome to Balmoral Castle had been axed, prompting fresh fears for the 96-year-old’s health.
Her Majesty had been due to attend the ceremony in Scotland on Monday but it was cancelled recently and swiftly replaced with a "small, private event”.
The Mirror understands that until just days before the ceremony, she was still intending to be there.
It was the first time in decades, apart from the pandemic, that she did not greet well-wishers at the gates to mark the start of her annual holiday.
A royal source said: "The traditional welcome to Balmoral is normally cemented in the Queen’s calendar and something Her Majesty really enjoys, being able to greet locals who travel to see her.
"It’s a bitter disappointment the ceremony will not take place in its traditional form.”
The Queen, who serves as Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Regiment of Scotland, instead attended a private occasion on the Balmoral lawns within the confines of the Castle.
She had been staying at the smaller Craigowan Lodge on her estate since arriving in Scotland on July 21.
Last weekend, a lorry with furniture brought up from Windsor was seen at the castle and she is expected to move in there from tomorrow. It will then be closed to the public until she leaves.
