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Late Queen’s most loyal aide on King’s honours list

By India Mctaggart Royal Correspondent

ANGELA KELLY, the Queen’s personal dresser, has been made a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (RVO) as the King bestowed honours on his late mother’s loyal staff.

Ms Kelly and other members of the royal household were named as recipients of honours under the RVO in recognition of their service to the late Queen, as part of a special set of Demise awards.

The honours list also recognised many who played important roles during her funeral in September last year. It featured members of the RAF flight crew who transported her coffin from Scotland to London and her pallbearers,who were drawn from the Armed Forces.

Awards under the RVO are in the King’s gift and are bestowed independently of Downing Street to people who have served the monarch or the Royal family in a personal way.

Ms Kelly, the late Queen’s personal assistant, adviser and curator, worked for her for more than 25 years and has been made a Commander of the RVO, after having received her RVO in 2012.

The women formed a close bond over the years, with Ms Kelly known in palace corridors as one of the Queen’s most trusted confidants.

Previously described as having had “a uniquely close working relationship with the Queen”, she was credited with keeping the monarch’s style modern, even adding a touch of sparkle in the way of “bling”. The late Queen valued the opinion of her meticulous aide and gradually over the years gave her increasing free rein when helping to create a look for an event.

Ms Kelly has previously said: “I do worry about her and care about her. But we also have a lot of fun together.

“The Queen has a wicked sense of humour and is a great mimic. She can do all accents – including mine.”

The Queen’s personal dresser was raised in a modest household in Liverpool, where her parents worked as a crane driver and a nurse.

Under Ms Kelly’s direction, the Queen was prepared to embellish her style despite her advancing age.

For example, a pair of 3D glasses worn by the Queen during a film demonstration in Canada in 2010 were given a touch of glamour by Ms Kelly – Swarovski crystals forming the letter Q on their sides.

Meanwhile, during the pandemic lockdown, Ms Kelly was thought to be part of the team that the Queen chose to isolate with, dubbed the “HMS Bubble”.

The Queen’s personal dresser once disclosed in an interview: “We are two typical women. We discuss clothes, make-up, jewellery.”

Terence Alan Pendry, Windsor Castle’s groom, who was pictured with his head bowed standing beside the Queen’s pony as the monarch’s coffin passed, was made a Commander of the RVO.

Also recognised were the Marquess of Cholmondeley, formerly Lord Great Chamberlain, Royal Household, who was made a Knight Grand Cross of the RVO, while former ladies-in-waiting to the Queen, Philippa de Pass and Jennifer Gordon Lennox, were made Dame Commanders.

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2023-03-25T07:00:00.0000000Z

2023-03-25T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://dailytelegraph.pressreader.com/article/281629604520230

Daily Telegraph