She says little about her children and how she managed as a working single mother. A shame, since I would have been interested. She must have had family support as her job required long hours and much time out of London. She does write about her four grandchildren, especially the granddaughter who shares her love of clothes and clothing design. 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.

Notes on Reading I once read that the Queen said "I am an ordinary person with an extraordinary job". And I believed it, but she's not. She's not like us at all. When Prince William, who is her grandson and second in line to the throne, got married and the invites went out the first thing all the women did was concentrate on getting the right outfit. I'm sure that Carole Middleton, mother of the bride, had the outfit, jewellery and accessories all sorted out months before. But the Queen only decided three weeks before that she'd like to wear something in yellow. Who does that? Motcomb Street, улицу с дорогими кутюрными магазинами, думая присмотреть для своей патронессы новые наряды и наладить сотрудничество с какими-то модельерами. В первом же бутике продавщица презрительно оглядела скромно одетую покупательницу и сообщила ей, что у них в магазине представлена высокая мода, которую она вряд ли сможет себе позволить. Келли пишет, что еле удержалась, чтобы дословно не повторить там известную сцену из фильма «Красотка». В соседнем бутике, прямо как в кино, Анжелу встретили тепло и приветливо, терпеливо ответили на все ее вопросы, показали ткани, образцы, обсудили фасоны, а владелец бутика Стюарт Парвин оказался на удивление скромным, не болтливым и добрым человеком. С Домом моды Стюарта Парвина королевский двор сотрудничает до сих пор. 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. I absolutely loved the stunning photos in the hardcopy! Many have never been seen before! The colors were especially dazzling!

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In The Other Side of the Coin, The Queen has personally given Angela her blessing to share their extraordinary bond with the world. Whether it’s preparing for a formal occasion or brightening Her Majesty’s day with a playful joke, Angela’s priority is to serve and support. Sharing never-before-seen photographs – many from Angela’s own private collection – and charming anecdotes of their time spent together, this revealing book provides memorable insights into what it’s like to work closely with The Queen, to curate her wardrobe and to discover a true and lasting connection along the way. 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. 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. Are some of the detailed descriptions of Queen's private room discussed in the news and social media true?

I enjoy reading about the Royal Family. I found this audiobook on Hoopla shortly after Queen Elizabeth II passed away; and, A fascinating glimpse of life behind the scenes in the Queen's household. As the Queen's Personal Assistant and senior dresser, Angela Kelly describes her numerous duties including consulting with Queen about suitable fashions for every occasion, caring for delicate fabrics and conducting advance visits to royal tour itineraries to plan the Queen's wardrobe. Kelly also describes the more unique aspects of her role including ironing on the royal train (following the rhythm of the train "like surfing") and letting the bookies know when to close the betting on the colour of the Queen's hat at Royal Ascot.

One of the good things about working in the same job for such a long time is that it allows you to put things right that haven't gone quite as planned in the past." With the help of Angela Kelly, she opted for yellow and pink and powder blue, in summery dresses with pretty floral designs." author Angela Kelly gives an in-depth, but dignified look behind-the-scenes as Queen Elizabeth II's Personal Assistant, Advisor and Curator (Jewellery, Insignias, and Wardrobe) since 1994; The way Queen Elizabeth II came to the London Olympics inauguration garnered much public attention. The author takes us to some new information that happened behind the scenes, how this whole procedure was carried out, and why the Queen agreed to do such a funny video with James Bond breaking the protocol. 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).

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!

🍪 Privacy & Transparency

Angela describes the Queen in a personal light without revealing anything too personal and nothing scandalous. Queen Elizabeth is interested in the details of every aspect of her job and what is reflected to the world. I loved the stories of local tribes, people and markets from her visits supply her wardrobe. That QEII enjoys a good bargain and is known to use fabric she may have given 30 plus years ago today. QEII is also a practical joker who takes it as well as she gives it. Prince Phillip is a person you can rely on when you need an honest opinion (when asked about a questionable fabric choice he responded with "are we reupholstering the couch?" Angela clearly loves QEII and by extension her job. 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.