The Other Side of the Coin: The Queen, the Dresser and the Wardrobe

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Angela Kelly is no writer, there is no depth, no insight, no glimpses from the 'other side of the coin' of how the Queen "really" is. Since Angela makes a point of saying right at the beginning of how she is absolutely loyal to the official secrets act and would never breech confidentiality in even the smallest way all there is left to write about is the dresses. So that's what she writes about, since she did that already in another book, I ask myself, why was this book written? Kelly herself is a tough Liverpool-Irish girl with great energy and an optimistic outlook. She loves fabric and clothes and feels privileged to have been the means of encouraging the Queen to transition to brighter colors and more modern designs. It's always fun to read about someone who loves his/her job.

One crucial factor was the dress The Queen would wear for the momentous skydive. I had to be careful not to choose a colour that was strongly associated with any of the participating nations, too, so after much consideration, I chose peach. However, the colour wasn't the only factor, the dress also had to be designed perfectly to allow movement in the skirt as The Queen seemingly flew through the air." First impression matter. Angela met QEII while working at the Berlin embassy. She refused to tell the Queen who was coming next since she had signed a confidentially agreement. In a snippet serialised in the Mail+ it explained how Angela helped the Queen dress in colourful clothes following the death of her husband. I would have been interested to read more in the book about the history of the position of the Queen's dresser over the course of Queen Elizabeth II's reign. Kelly notes that previous dressers did not keep records concerning the provenance of materials in the Queen's wardrobe and I would liked to learn more about the challenges Kelly faced in organizing the Queen's fashions when she began her role.

🍪 Privacy & Transparency

Along with the claims about the staff's feelings towards the dresser, Brandreth's book also reveals the Queen's incredible stoicism during her final months. So what are the new Angela Kelly books releasing in 2022 or beyond? The bookworms here at booksrelease.com have been hard at work compiling and sorting the official list of Angela Kelly newest books 2022, Angela Kelly new releases 2022/2023 and beyond. In 2012 Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her Diamond Jubilee, 60 years on the throne, only the second English monarch to do so, Queen Victoria being the first. Even in an ordinary year she attends many events, but this year was special so more were planned, and her wardrobe had to be special too. Angela Kelly serves as the queen's personal assistant, advisor and curator of the personal jewel collection. She also designs most of the queen's wardrobe, including hats, but always with input from the queen. Everything has to be reasonably comfortable to wear, easily seen in a crowd. They start with the fabric which has to not crease or crush easily. They do special shopping, but start with the collection of fabric they already have, much of it bought on previous trips overseas as well as locally in the UK. The wardrobe is made in-house by dressmakers, with a milliner for the hats. Mary Angela Kelly, LVO (born 4 November 1957, Liverpool), is a British fashion designer, dressmaker, and milliner, who served as Personal Assistant and Senior Dresser to Queen Elizabeth II from 2002 to the Queen's death in 2022. Her official title is Personal Assistant, Adviser and Curator to Her Majesty The Queen (Jewellery, Insignias and Wardrobe).

There's little about the Queen's relationship with her children or grandchildren, but Prince Philip plays a starring role. The author is an admirer of that controversial character, claiming that his value to the Queen was that he ALWAYS told her the truth. I loved his blunt opinion of an outfit done in a loud plaid. Suitable for covering the sofa, was the way he put it, saving his wife the embarrassment of appearing in clothing unsuited for her petite figure. A few of the photos are only of scenic locations (e.g. the Taj Mahal, the Sydney Opera House, etc.) with no one in the shots. If you know me, you know my love and obsession for the Royals and for fashion and this book covered it all! This book was on my Christmas list and although it is the second book of Angela Kelly and I have not had the chance to read the first one, this book gave an insight of what it is like to work for Her Majesty, The Queen. And oh how I wish I did!

This book is a highly enjoyable read. To my knowledge, this is the first book sanctioned by the Queen written by a staff member; a current staff member at that. I wasn't expecting Kelly to disclose any deep, dark secrets. Some things as best left private. I did; however, learn a lot more about the Queen than I knew before, which made this a most enjoyable read for me. I'm not a clothes horse OR a follower of the Royals, but I was fascinated by Kelly's stories of her childhood as one of six children in a working class family in Liverpool. She started working at age fifteen and married and had three children by the time she was in her twenties. She was divorced when she was hired to take charge of the Queen's wardrobe. Was Queen Elizabeth a strict person who never agreed to break protocol? The answer to this question can be easily found on social media in the London Olympics inauguration video. It was not a video that fortuitously happened. We can see how she agreed to break the protocol and made us all see her humorous side to make us all happy. Kelly founded a fashion label, Kelly & Pordum, with Alison Pordum, who was also employed as the Queen's in-house dressmaker until 2008. Kelly is also the author of Dressing the Queen: The Jubilee Wardrobe and The Other Side of the Coin: The Queen, the Dresser and the Wardrobe.