Queen Elizabeth’s ‘gatekeeper’ to follow in Prince Harry’s footsteps with TV documentary

More information about the inner workings of the royal family has been revealed than ever over the past few years, with the release of Prince Harry’s book Spare and bombshell Netflix documentary, Harry & Meghan.

Now, one of the people who was closest to the late Queen Elizabeth II could follow suit with the release of a new “scripted documentary”, according to The Mail on Sunday. Dresser Angela Kelly, who worked as Her late Majesty’s “gatekeeper” for 28 years, is reportedly set to appear in the film, controlled by 53 Degrees Global in collaboration with Walt Disney.

Despite Angela’s unprecedented access to the private life of Queen Elizabeth, she earned the late monarch’s trust and was awarded a level of freedom when it came to reporting on her life. Angela has already released two books, Dressing the Queen: The Jubilee Wardrobe and The Other Side of the Coin: The Queen, the Dresser and the Wardrobe, and was granted permission to publish a third by the Queen’s private secretaries.

Angela has only had kind words to say about her time working with Elizabeth, describing her as a close friend.

However, it is thought that the royal family could remain concerned about what she could reveal during her TV appearance. A royal observer told the publication: “I don’t think the Palace has a leg to stand on if she wants to tell her story. If Harry and Meghan can break all the rules, why can’t she?”

Inside Angela Kelly’s close bond with Queen Elizabeth

Angela developed a very close bond with Queen Elizabeth II. She first began working for the Queen in 1994 before becoming her Personal Assistant and Senior Dresser in 2002. The late monarch went on to make Angela a Commander of the Victorian Order in her Demise Honours List. 

Holographer Rob Munday previously opened up to HELLO! about the ladies’ unique friendship. “The rapport between Angela Kelly and the Queen was unbelievable and you could just see the connection they had with each other,” recalled Rob. “The Queen just totally trusted Angela to do whatever.”

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The milliner was among a select group at Balmoral when the monarch died aged 96 on 8 September 2022. Sharing her final moments with the Queen, Angela wrote in an emotional tribute on the second anniversary of her death: “It has been two long years since I kissed you goodbye. I told you that I loved you and I still don’t know why. That although the first year I tried to move on but I wouldn’t. 

“The second year I tried to heal but I couldn’t. Maybe tomorrow will be a new start for me, although every anniversary will still break my heart.” 

Reflecting on their close bond, she added: “I have waited all day to write this and fought back the tears. I will always look back over our years remembering the fun we had working, laughing together. I thought our friendship would last forever.”

During her first interview reflecting on her time with the late monarch, Angela opened up about their special morning routine dancing to ABBA’s ‘Dancing Queen’.

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“When the song came on, she loved it, and both of us would dance. The Queen would move from side to side and sing. Her Majesty loved singing and had a good voice. I didn’t. 

“I’d get carried away and be dancing all round her like I was at a disco, and the Queen would tell me to ‘move over’ because I can’t sing, and we laughed. They were moments to cherish, to see the Queen so relaxed,” she told Vanity Fair. 

Royal verdict on the late Queen’s dresser

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However, she was not as close to other members of the royal family. Prince Harry accused the dresser of getting involved in his wedding planning with Meghan Markle in 2018 in his memoir Spare.

Harry accused the dresser of obstructing Meghan’s attempts to practise wearing Queen Mary’s Diamond Bandeau Tiara, which she loaned from Harry’s grandmother.

“She was being obstructive, obviously, but for what reason? We couldn’t even hazard a guess. I considered going to Granny, but that would probably mean sparking an all-out confrontation, and I wasn’t quite sure with whom Granny would side.

“Also, to my mind, Angela was a troublemaker, and I didn’t need her as an enemy,” he wrote.