The Queen sat alone during the funeral for Prince Philip in April last year
(Picture: REUTERS)The Queen mourned alone in a room at Windsor Castle after the funeral of her husband Philip, one of her most trusted aides has revealed.
Angela Kelly, her former dresser, said that the monarch had returned to her private room following the service at St George’s Chapel in April last year.
In an updated memoir, set to be published in Hello! Magazine later this week, Ms Kelly wrote: “I helped her off with her coat and hat and no words were spoken.
“The Queen then walked to her sitting room, closed the door behind her, and she was alone with her own thoughts.”
The image of the Queen sitting alone wearing a black face mask at the service became one of the most haunting photos of the pandemic in Britain.
The book reveals what life was like inside Windsor during the pandemic, with a team of staff named “HMS Bubble” tending to the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh throughout the national lockdowns.
Writing of the day that Philip died on April 9, 2021, she said: “The feeling among all the Royal staff in the bubble at Windsor Castle was sombre. Only a few of us were told after the family had been informed.”
Ms Kelly washed and styled the Queen’s hair every week during lockdown. She said the “Queen knew I was nervous” but was “so kind as she advised me on the very specific way to put the rollers in.”
Though she rarely gives interviews, Ms Kelly once disclosed: “We are two typical women. We discuss clothes, make-up, jewellery.”
Her book, published on May 12 by HarperCollins, also reveals some of the behind-the-scenes tricks used for the monarch’s attire.
This includes sewing in extra layers of lining to cushion the impact of beading and crystals on the Queen’s back when events require glamorous gowns.
The update to the book, titled The Other Side of the Coin: The Queen, the Dresser and the Wardrobe, will coincide with the Platinum Jubilee.
Katya Shipster, Harper Non-Fiction publishing director, said of the book: “It tells the story of the royal bubble as well as the lengths Angela and the royal household went to, to ensure the safety of the monarch.”
