It looks like King Charles wants to make some big changes now that he is the new monarch! As well as opting for a much smaller coronation than his mother’s back in 1953, he also appeared to want to make his family’s estate smaller too, as he reportedly evicted the late Queen’s close friend and assistant from her Windsor Park home shortly after her death. Yikes!
According to the latest release of Valentine Low’s Courtiers: Intrigue, Ambition, and the Power Players Behind the House of Windsor, which has already dropped so many bombshells and now features some new updates about the monarchy, King Charles, 74, forced the late Queen Elizabeth II’s most trusted aide to move out of the cottage after her death.
King Charles Reportedly Forced The Late Queen's Close Friend Out Of Her Windsor Cottage
According to an excerpt of Low's updated book, as per The Times, Angela Kelly, 64, believed she would be allowed to reside in her cottage in Windsor Home Park after the Queen's death. However, that was not the case, as Low's book claims that King Charles forced her out. It's reportedly quite common for longtime staff members to be gifted "grace-and-favor" homes in the royal estate – and Kelly reportedly had a room on the same floor as the Queen’s private apartments in the Augusta Tower.
Although King Charles reportedly made it clear that Kelly, who called the late Queen her "best friend," was no longer welcome at the cottage, he did reportedly want to provide alternative accommodation for his late mother's former aide. "Negotiations ensued in which it was suggested that the King would buy her a home near Sheffield, [England], to be near her grandchildren," Low wrote.
King Charles Bought Angela Kelly Her Own Home In Yorkshire, England
"Angela wasn’t everybody’s cup of tea, but nevertheless the King had no wish to see her homeless," a source told Low, according to the excerpt. "I get the impression that the King just didn’t want to be living next door to her." It's now been reported that King Charles bought a home for her in Yorkshire, England, and it will be returned to the Crown upon her death.
In relation to the not being "everybody's cup of tea" comment, Kelly infamously got into an argument with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle before their royal wedding in 2018, as she was reportedly the one who told Meghan that she couldn’t have her first choice of tiara. According to Prince Harry's memoir, Spare, Kelly wasn’t making it easy for Meghan to have the tiara she had chosen from the Queen's private collection, which ultimately led her to choose another piece.
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When Did Angela Kelly First Start Working For The Queen?
Kelly first began working for the Queen in 1994 as her dresser and was responsible for putting together the late monarch's clothes, jewelry, and insignia; and she quickly turned into a close friend.
"During the late Queen’s last years, there was no one outside her immediate family who was closer to her than Angela Kelly," Low said, adding, "Her official title was Personal Assistant, Adviser and Curator to Her Majesty the Queen… but she was also her confidante, her friend and the person who looked after her more than anyone else; as Kelly would tell friends, she was effectively the Queen’s carer."
On September 19th, Kelly shared a picture of herself at the Queen's funeral on Instagram with the caption: "A very sad day for me today. I said goodbye to my best friend."
