Angela Kelly helped cut the Queen’s hair during lockdown (Buckingham Palace/PA)
(Picture: PA Media)The Queen’s personal adviser has revealed how she became the monarch’s hairdresser during lockdown in a book.
Angela Kelly, the Queen’s senior dresser and personal adviser, was part of a team who isolated with the head of state during Covid.
The Queen spent most of the pandemic in Windsor Castle isolating with a reduced number of staff - reportedly called “HMS Bubble” by insiders.
In a new chapter in her book on serving the Queen, The Other Side Of The Coin: The Queen, The Dresser And The Wardrobe, Ms Kelly reveals how she set and cut the Queen’s hair among other details about royal life under lockdown.
The revised book, first published in 2019, also covers the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral, the first public engagements post-lockdown and looks ahead to the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June.
It has been updated to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
Katya Shipster, Harper Non-Fiction publishing director, said: “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.”
Ms Kelly has worked for almost 30 years with the monarch and the Queen is said to value her opinion greatly - even giving her somewhat free reign in preparing looks for an event.
This has included added embellishments to the Queen’s style, such as a pair of 3D glasses worn by the monarch during a film demonstration in Canada in 2010 - which were emblazoned with Swarovski crystals forming the letter Q on their sides.
Ms Kelly rarely gives interviews but she once revealed of her relationship with the Queen: “We are two typical women. We discuss clothes, make-up, jewellery.”
Her book, published on May 12 by HarperCollins, also reveals some of the tricks-of-the-trade used for the Queen’s outfits.
Ms Kelly sews in extra layers of lining to cushion the impact of beading and crystals on the Queen’s back when events require glamorous gowns.
Tiny weights are also put into day-wear hemlines in case of windy weather, while fabrics that crumple or could potentially develop messy loose strands are avoided.
Ms Kelly, who has the same size feet as the Queen, also wears in the monarch’s handmade new shoes to ensure they are comfortable when first used.
