Queen Elizabeth's personal advisor has revealed that she became the monarch's hairdresser during the COVID-19 lockdown. Angela Kelly, the Queen's closest confidant, has penned her experiences during the lockdown, which will be released as the updated version of her memoir "The Other Side of the Coin: The Queen, the Dresser and the Wardrobe".
The book was originally published in 2019 and became a bestseller. It has been updated to mark the Queen's Platinum Jubilee.
Queen Elizabeth II moved to Windsor Castle from the Buckingham Palace, along with her husband prince Philip, to spend most of the pandemic in isolation - which was called as “HMS Bubble” by the British media.
Kelly, according to Newsweek, has worked for the Queen for more than 20 years and helps her to dress, oversees her expensive jewellery and tends to the personal needs of the 95-year-old monarch.
The 64-year-old has been given the permission by the British Crown to write and release the memoir - the first person to receive such consent about documenting her life as part of the royal household. Kelly was even allowed to update her work with anecdotes from the COVID-hit period.
Harper Collins, the publishers of Kelly's book, issued a statement on Monday in which they said the additional chapter will cover "royal household's isolation during lockdowns at Windsor Castle; Angela supporting the Queen in new ways, such as cutting and setting her hair; the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral; the first public engagements post lockdown; and a look ahead at the Jubilee celebrations in June."
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and the Queen's husband, died in April 2021 at the age of 99.
“We wanted to commemorate the extraordinary occasion of the queen's Platinum Jubilee with this beautiful new edition, as well as bring the content of the book right up to date following on from the unprecedented events of the past two years,” Katya Shipster, Harper's publishing director, said in the statement.
The Queen battled COVID-19 in February and has fully recovered now. According to New York Post, she spoke about her illness during a virtual visit earlier this month to the Royal London Hospital, calling it “horrible” which “leaves one very tired and exhausted”.
