Queen’s adviser ‘became her hairdresser’ during lockdown

Angela Kelly says she set and cut Her Majesty’s hair during lockdown

(Getty)

The Queen’s long-time style adviser Angela Kelly has revealed she became the Queen’s “hairdresser” during lockdown.

In Kelly’s soon-to-be re-released book, The Other Side Of The Coin: The Queen, The Dresser And The Wardrobe, which was first published in 2019, it features new chapters on the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral, the Queen’s first public engagements post-lockdown, and a look-ahead to the Jubilee later this year.

In the pandemic chapter, Kelly describes how she set and cut the monarch’s hair during lockdown.

The reworked book will be published on 12 May and reveals several other tid-bits about what it’s like to dress the Queen.

In the book Kelly writes that she sews in extra layers of lining to cushion the impact of beading and crystals on the Queen’s back when events require embellished gowns.

Tiny weights are also put into day-wear hemlines in case of windy weather and fabrics that crumple or could potentially develop messy loose strands are avoided.

As Kelly is the same shoe size as the Queen, she writes that she wears in the Queens shows first to ensure they are comfortable when first used.

Katya Shipster, Harper Non-Fiction publishing director, said the book was updated to mark the upcoming Platinum Jubilee.

“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,” Shipster added.

Kelly has held the title of personal assistant, adviser and curator to Her Majesty the Queen since 2001, and is responsible for the Queen’s style.

Of working with the Queen, Kelly once said: “We are two typical women. We discuss clothes, make-up, jewellery.”

Additional reporting by PA