Queen Elizabeths right hand woman Angela Kelly reveals she told the monarch she loved her and kissed her goodbye before her death at Balmoral
The late Queens closest adviser Angela Kelly has paid a moving tribute to Elizabeth II, revealing she told her I love you and kissed her goodbye before her death.
The late Queens closest adviser Angela Kelly has paid a moving tribute to Elizabeth II, revealing she told her I love you and kissed her goodbye before her death.
Ms Kelly, who worked for the Queen for more than 25 years and had an unparalleled bond with the monarch, was staying at Balmoral the week she died in 2022.
And two years on from Elizabeths death aged 96 on September 8 that year, Ms Kelly shared a heartfelt tribute that each anniversary will forever break my heart.
Ms Kelly, 66, who was the monarchs senior dresser and confidante, also revealed she was still unsure why she told Her Majesty she loved her in her final moments.
In a poignant statement on Instagram Stories, she said: It has been a long two years since I kissed you goodbye. I told you that I loved you and I still dont know why.
The late Queens closest adviser Angela Kelly leaves Londons Goring Hotel after attending a Christmas lunch hosted by Her Majesty for her close members of staff on December 11, 2018
The Queen with Anna Wintour (centre) and Angela Kelly (right) at London Fashion Week 2018
That although the first year I tried to move on, but I wouldnt. The second year I tried to heal but I couldnt. Maybe tomorrow will be a new start for me, although every anniversary will still break my heart.
Continuing her post, Ms Kelly added that she had waited all day to write this and fought back the tears.
She wrote: I will always look back over our years remembering the fun we had working, laughing together. I thought our friendship would last forever.
Every night I say goodnight to you in my prayers. I served you with love and loyalty of which you deserved. Please keep looking down on me with a nod and a smile, we can still laugh although we havent done in a while.
Finishing the message, Ms Kelly wrote: Patience is a virtue you passed down to me. I have waited and now I can see. You sent a guardian angel to help me through. You sent your strength down to me. My time has come and now I am free.
It comes after Ms Kelly also posted a moving message addressed to Elizabeth II last year to mark the first anniversary of her death, saying: I will never forget you. I will always love you. I miss you my friend.
And when Her Majesty died in September 2022, Ms Kelly posted on Instagram, A very sad day for me today. I said goodbye to my best friend.
On the day of her death, King Charles III and Queen Camilla are said to have spent an hour with Her Majesty privately in her final hours.
Ms Kelly and Princess Anne alternated at her bedside, along with Reverend Kenneth MacKenzie, a minister at the nearby Crathie Kirk.
A note about her death was written by her private secretary Sir Edward Young in a memo which said: Very peaceful. In her sleep. Slipped away. Old age. She wouldnt have been aware of anything. No pain.
Ms Kelly, a dockers daughter from Liverpool, began working for Elizabeth in 1994 before becoming her personal assistant and senior dresser in 2002.
Angela Kelly attends Queen Elizabeth IIs funeral at Westminster Abbey on September 19, 2022
She was known as a bubbly and hard-working royal aide who kept the late Queens style relevant and even added a touch of bling during the decades she worked for the head of state.
Elizabeth valued the opinion of her personal assistant and gradually over the years gave her free rein when helping her create a look for an event.
Despite the late monarchs advancing years, she had been prepared to embellish her style – under Ms Kellys direction – as a nod to modern times.
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.
During lockdown, when the Queen isolated with a small group from her household dubbed HMS Bubble, Ms Kelly was thought to have been part of the team.
She once disclosed in an interview: We are two typical women. We discuss clothes, make-up, jewellery.
Angela Kelly was made a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order in March 2023
Ms Kelly also previously said: The Queen loves clothes and is a real expert on fabrics. Its not been a question of me teaching the Queen – its been the other way round.
In March 2023, she was made a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (RVO) in recognition of her service to the Queen, as part of a special set of Demise awards.
Awards under the RVO are in the Kings gift and are bestowed independently of Downing Street to people who have served the monarch or the royal family in a personal way.
The following month, it was revealed that the King had secretly gifted Ms Kelly a new home to honour a promise made by his mother.
Ms Kelly was promised lifelong accommodation by the Queen - but within months of Her Majestys death, the dressmaker was asked to vacate her cottage on the Windsor estate.
King Charles III and Queen Camilla arrive at Crathie Kirk near Balmoral for a poignant service, two years on from Elizabeth IIs death
But she was later granted accommodation by the King for the rest of her life, as he gifted her a new home, believed to be near Guiseley in Yorkshire. It is thought that the King has bought the property, which will revert to the Crown on her death.
Charles and Camilla also marked the two-year anniversary of Her Majestys death as they gathered in memory of her at a poignant service at Crathie Kirk near Balmoral.
Guest preacher at the divine service the Right Reverend Dr Shaw Paterson described the anniversary as particularly significant and poignant for the royal family and said he remembered them in his prayers during his sermon.
Onlookers said the King waved and was very gracious to the small crowd of well-wishers who waited to see him enter the church on the second anniversary of his historic accession to the throne.
