LOOKING GOOD, MA'AM

As the queen’s dresser, Angela Kelly has a unique insight into the monarch’s personal style, secret wishes and last-minute fashion rescue jobs

SHE’S one of the most photographed people in the world. Wherever Britain’s Queen Elizabeth goes she knows people will be staring at her from top to toe and dissecting her fashion choices. Talk about pressure!

Luckily she has Angela Kelly advising her about what to wear for the hundreds of engagements she does every year. As the British monarch’s personal dresser, it’s her job to source clothes, shoes and jewellery that are, well, fit for royalty.

Over the past 25 years Angela has created many of the queen’s most iconic looks, even designing some of the outfits herself.

Angela describes their relationship as being a bit like a marriage – in fact, they’re so close that she’s become known as the Queen’s Gatekeeper.

In this extract from her new book, The Other Side of the Coin, Angela shares fascinating details about the thinking behind some of the queen’s fashion choices as well as heartwarming anecdotes about their daily interactions.

‘DURING my 25 years of 1working closely with Her Majesty the Queen, I am lucky enough to have travelled to some of the most amazing places in the world. But one moment in particular makes me emotional every time: the sight of the queen putting on her Imperial State Crown at the annual State Opening of Parliament.

When she puts on the crown, it touches my heart. We are alone behind the privacy screen in the Robing Room in the Houses of Parliament just before the queen enters the chamber to make her speech on behalf of her government. We are silent and serious, concentrating hard, and the queen is deep in thought.

When I have positioned the State Robe on her shoulders, she takes the crown off its cushion, and I watch as she raises it above her head. The magnificence of that moment takes my breath away every time.