Angela Kelly

Last updated
Angela Kelly,

CVO
Born
Mary Angela Kelly

(1957-11-04) 4 November 1957 (age 66)
Occupation(s)Fashion designer, dressmaker, milliner
TitlePersonal Assistant, Adviser and Curator to the late Queen Elizabeth II (1993–2022)

Mary Angela Kelly, CVO (born 4 November 1957) is a British fashion designer, dressmaker, and milliner, who served as Personal Assistant and Senior Dresser to Queen Elizabeth II from 1993 until the monarch's death in 2022. [1] Her official title was Personal Assistant, Adviser and Curator to Her Majesty The Queen (Jewellery, Insignias and Wardrobe). [2]

Contents

Early life

Kelly was born in Liverpool, as the daughter of a dock worker [3] and a nurse. [4]

Career

A display of six of Queen Elizabeth II's outfits, five of which were designed by Kelly, at Hillsborough Castle in County Down, Northern Ireland. Elizabeth II's outfits.jpg
A display of six of Queen Elizabeth II's outfits, five of which were designed by Kelly, at Hillsborough Castle in County Down, Northern Ireland.

Kelly first began working for the Queen after gaining employment as the Queen's Dresser following an interview at Windsor Castle in 1994. [5] She was responsible for the Queen's clothes, jewellery and insignia, researching the venues for royal visits as well as the significance of different colours, in order to create appropriate outfits for the monarch. [6] In 2019, Kelly announced that the Queen would only wear faux-furs. [7]

Notable creations by Kelly include:

With other members of the royal household, she attended the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II on 19 September 2022. [14]

Other work

Kelly founded a fashion label, Kelly & Pordum, with Alison Pordum, who was also employed as the Queen's in-house dressmaker until 2008. [15] 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.

Honours

Criticism

In the 2023 biography Spare, by Prince Harry (ghostwritten by J. R. Moehringer), Angela Kelly is described as “a troublemaker” who purposefully withheld the tiara promised to Meghan Markle by Queen Elizabeth in her private dressing room, going so far as to begin a row with the Prince during her eventual, curt delivery of the tiara and leveling a threatening gaze. [20]

Bibliography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Princess Eugenie</span> British princess (born 1990)

Princess Eugenie, Mrs Jack Brooksbank is a member of the British royal family. She is the younger daughter of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and Sarah, Duchess of York. She is a niece of King Charles III. At birth, she was 6th in the line of succession to the British throne and is now 11th. She is the younger sister of Princess Beatrice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Princess Beatrice</span> British princess (born 1988)

Princess Beatrice, Mrs Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, is a member of the British royal family. She is the elder daughter of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and Sarah, Duchess of York. She is a niece of King Charles III. Born fifth in line of succession to the British throne, she is now ninth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lady Louise Windsor</span> Member of the British royal family (born 2003)

Lady Louise Alice Elizabeth Mary Mountbatten-Windsor is the daughter of Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh, and Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh. She is a granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II, and the youngest niece of King Charles III. Born 8th in line to the British throne, she is now 16th.

Lady Sarah Frances Elizabeth Chatto is a member of the British royal family. She is the only daughter of Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, and Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon. She and her brother, David Armstrong-Jones, 2nd Earl of Snowdon, are the only maternal first cousins of King Charles III. She is the youngest grandchild of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. At her birth, she was 7th in line to the British throne; as of May 2023, she is 28th. Though she does not undertake public duties, she frequently attends events and ceremonies with the wider royal family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norman Hartnell</span> British fashion designer (1901–1979)

Sir Norman Bishop Hartnell was a leading British fashion designer, best known for his work for the ladies of the royal family. Hartnell gained the Royal Warrant as Dressmaker to Queen Elizabeth in 1940, and Royal Warrant as Dressmaker to Queen Elizabeth II in 1957. Princess Beatrice also wore a dress designed for Queen Elizabeth II by Hartnell for her wedding in 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wedding dress</span> Dress worn by a bride during the wedding ceremony

A wedding dress or bridal gown is the dress worn by the bride during a wedding ceremony. The color, style and ceremonial importance of the gown can depend on the religion and culture of the wedding participants. In Western culture, the wedding dress is most commonly white, a fashion made popular by Queen Victoria when she married in 1840. In Eastern cultures, brides often choose red to symbolize auspiciousness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Personality and image of Elizabeth II</span> Public depiction of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom

The image of Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms and Head of the Commonwealth from 1952 to 2022, was generally favourable throughout her years as a reigning monarch. Conservative in dress, she was well known for her solid-colour overcoats and matching hats, which allowed her to be seen easily in a crowd. She attended many cultural events as part of her public role. Her main leisure interests included horse racing, photography, and dogs, especially her Pembroke Welsh corgis. She ate jam sandwiches every day since childhood. Some of her other favorite foods were fish and chips, chocolate perfection pie, scones with jam and clotted cream, salmon from the River Dee and Morecambe Bay potted shrimp. Her views on political issues and other matters were largely subject to conjecture. She never gave a press interview and was otherwise not known to discuss her personal opinions publicly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victor Stiebel</span> South African-born British couturier (1907–1976)

Victor Frank Stiebel was a South African-born British couturier. A founder member of the Incorporated Society of London Fashion Designers, he was among the top ten designers in Britain during the war and post-war years. Among his more notable designs were the uniforms for the Women's Royal Naval Service in 1951 and the going-away outfit for Princess Margaret's wedding in 1960.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wedding dress of Princess Elizabeth of the United Kingdom</span> Dress worn by Princess Elizabeth at her wedding to Philip Mountbatten in 1947

The wedding dress of Princess Elizabeth, was worn at her wedding to Philip Mountbatten, Duke of Edinburgh on 20 November 1947 in Westminster Abbey. Given the rationing of clothing at the time, she still had to purchase the material using ration coupons. The dress was designed by Norman Hartnell. Hartnell's signature was said to be embroidery, and he enjoyed "working with soft, floating fabrics, particularly tulle and chiffon, and with plain, lustrous silks". The dress was made of Chinese silk, with a high neckline, tailored bodice and a short train. Without straps and with long sleeves, it provided a "fit and flare silhouette".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coronation gown of Elizabeth II</span> Gown worn by Elizabeth II at her coronation in 1953

Queen Elizabeth II's coronation took place on 2 June 1953. Ordered in October 1952, her gown took eight months of research, design, workmanship, and intricate embroidery to complete. It featured the floral emblems of the countries of the United Kingdom and those of the other states within the Commonwealth of Nations, including the English Tudor rose, Scots thistle, Welsh leek, Irish shamrock, Canadian maple leaf, Australian wattle, New Zealand silver fern, South African protea, Indian lotus flower for India, the Lotus flower of Ceylon, and Pakistan's wheat, cotton, and jute.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wedding dress of Queen Victoria</span> Dress worn by Queen Victoria at her wedding to Prince Albert in 1840

Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom married Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha on 10 February 1840. She chose to wear a white wedding dress made from heavy silk satin, making her one of the first women to wear white for their wedding. The Honiton lace used for her wedding dress proved an important boost to Devon lace-making. Queen Victoria has been credited with starting the tradition of white weddings and white bridal gowns, although she was not the first royal to be married in white.

Princess Anne has been married twice, in 1973 and 1992:

Frederick Fox LVO was an Australian-born British milliner who designed hats for Queen Elizabeth II and other members of the British Royal Family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rachel Trevor-Morgan</span> British milliner

Rachel Trevor-Morgan is a British milliner best known for the hats she created for the Queen Elizabeth II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elizabeth Handley-Seymour</span> British fashion designer

Elizabeth Handley-Seymour (1867–1948) was a London-based fashion designer and court-dressmaker operating as Madame Handley-Seymour between 1910 and 1940. She is best known for creating the wedding dress worn by Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, the future Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, for her marriage to the Duke of York, the future King George VI, in 1923; and later, Queen Elizabeth's coronation gown in 1937.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal christening gown</span> Item of baptismal clothing used by a royal family

A royal christening gown is an item of baptismal clothing used by a royal family at family christenings. Among those presently using such a gown are the royal families of the United Kingdom, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, and Sweden. In most of these families, the tradition goes back over a century: as of 2019, the Swedish gown has been in service for 113 years, the Dutch gown for 139 years, and the Danish gown for 149 years; the current British gown has been in use since 2008. The Spanish gown has been in use for 81 years.

The wedding of Princess Beatrice of York and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi took place on 17 July 2020 at the Royal Chapel of All Saints, Royal Lodge, Windsor. The bride, Princess Beatrice of York, is a member of the British royal family. The groom, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, is a property developer and member of a family that were part of the Italian nobility. Scheduled for 29 May 2020 at Chapel Royal of St James's Palace, the wedding was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The wedding dress of Princess Beatrice of York worn at her wedding to Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi on 17 July 2020 was designed by the British fashion designer Norman Hartnell, who had originally created the gown for Queen Elizabeth II, the bride's grandmother, in the 1960s. The original dress was altered by the Queen's dressmaker, Angela Kelly, and British fashion designer, Stewart Parvin, who remodelled and fitted the dress for Princess Beatrice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fashion of Diana, Princess of Wales</span> Describes the fashion and style of Diana, Princess of Wales

The fashion of Diana, Princess of Wales, had a substantial impact on the clothing industry; her style in the 1980s and 1990s led her to be considered a fashion icon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cream Dior dress of Princess Margaret</span> 1951 birthday dress worn in England

Princess Margaret wore a cream Dior dress for her 21st birthday commemorations at Sandringham House in 1951. The off-the-shoulder silk gown was created and customised by designer Christian Dior, whom Margaret became closely associated with. The princess was captured in the piece, dubbed one of her favourite dresses, by Cecil Beaton, with the portrait becoming one of the most memorable royal photographs of the twentieth century. The dress has been cited as a part of fashion history, and has been a part of the permanent collection at the Museum of London since 1968.

References

  1. Royal Collection - Queen & Commonwealth
  2. "9 things to know about the Queen's dressmaker Angela Kelly". 29 October 2019.
  3. "Queen Elizabeth II's style shaped to suit a sovereign". France 24. AFP. 8 September 2022.
  4. Nicholson, Abigail (19 September 2022). "Queen's Liverpool right hand woman attends her funeral". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
  5. "The Queen's Dressmaker: Angela Kelly". 7 August 2015.
  6. "Her Majesty's A team". Daily Telegraph.
  7. "Queen Elizabeth II is going fur-free". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  8. 1 2 Holt, Bethan; Ranscombe, Stan (6 July 2019). "The story behind the royal christening robe that Archie Mountbatten Windsor wore for his baptism". The Telegraph. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
  9. 1 2 Taylor, Elise (20 February 2018). "Who Is Angela Kelly, the Queen's Right-Hand Woman at London Fashion Week?". Vogue. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
  10. Joseph, Claudia (20 October 2013). "Creator of christening gown finally revealed". The Times. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
  11. Liverpool-born designer Angela Kelly designed the Queen's Royal Wedding outfit - In The Mix Today - News - Liverpool Echo
  12. Zara Phillips wedding guests: fashion verdicts - mirror.co.uk
  13. Hallemann, Caroline (18 July 2020). "Princess Beatrice's Stunning Vintage Wedding Dress Was Her "Something Old"". Town and Country Magazine . Retrieved 18 July 2020.
  14. Newton, Jennifer (19 September 2022). "Queen's devoted best friend who was with her until the end pays her respects". mirror. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
  15. Newbold, Alice (9 February 2016). "How Angela Kelly created the Queen's latest elegant look". The Telegraph. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
  16. "No. 58014". The London Gazette (Supplement). 17 June 2006. p. 3.
  17. 2012 Jubilee Honours List - Royal.gov website Archived September 14, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  18. "No. 64008". The London Gazette (Supplement). 25 March 2023. p. D2.
  19. "How the Queen ensured her close confidante Angela Kelly could remain living at her grace-and-favour home". Tatler. 12 September 2022. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
  20. Harry (2023). Spare. Random House. ISBN   978-0-593677-86-5.
  21. New Royal Collection Trust publication Dressing The Queen: The Jubilee Wardrobe