Although her official title was 'Personal Assistant and Senior Advisor to Her Majesty', Angela Kelly was far more than just a maid to the late Queen Elizabeth II, her boss at work for about 30 years. She was also a close friend and confidante, one of the few people who truly knew the woman who wore the crown. In a rare and emotional interview, Kelly said: 'The Queen was committed to her duty to the very end. She never let anyone down, even when she was feeling unwell, she didn't want anyone to know that.' She added: 'While I worked alongside the Queen, we grew older year by year, but we were young at heart, and the Queen retained her youthful spirit, continuing to joke and play pranks even during her final stay at Balmoral Castle.' Kelly continued: 'When the Queen died, she was surrounded by her family. It was a shock to the nation, and to everyone, and it was very sad, but it was an honor for me to serve the Queen until the end. This friendship was one of the strangest, as it united the daughter of a dock worker from the working class in Liverpool and the most powerful woman in the world, who was born a princess and enjoyed unimaginable privileges. But despite the huge differences in their worlds and backgrounds, there were fundamental commonalities between the two women: an interest in fashion, a sense of humor, and a willingness to put duty before everything else, including, sometimes, family. Kelly first met Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip in Germany in 1992 while working as a maid for the then-British ambassador, Christopher Mallaby. The Queen took a liking to Kelly and was invited to apply for an internal position as a maid at Buckingham Palace. At the time, Kelly couldn't afford to buy new clothes for the interview, so she sold her washing machine to buy some outfits. She got the job and left her family home in Sheffield in 1994 to join the royal household, where she worked alongside Peggy Hood, then the Queen's Keeper of the Wardrobe, who was approaching retirement after 34 years of service. As she climbed the career ladder, Kelly was credited with renewing the Queen's wardrobe, transforming her image from old-fashioned to magnificent. She convinced the Queen to replace her long ankle-length skirts with colorful and attractive dresses. Kelly gave the Queen confidence, and the Queen felt more at ease when Kelly was present. However, the closeness and comfort they shared surprised royal circles and the royal family. Sources close to Buckingham Palace confirmed that Kelly had 'overstepped the boundaries.' Technically, she was a maid, but she was much more than that. A former senior palace aide said: 'If royal staff fell out with Kelly, she could make or break their career at the palace, because she had the Queen's trust.' Kelly became a close friend and trusted member of the Queen's inner circle, and people felt threatened by Kelly, who could be harsh at times. This went to the highest levels. Due to her accent and working-class origins, some men in the British royal household looked down on the maid Angela Kelly with disdain and considered her an outsider. She was nicknamed 'EK47', after the assault rifle, because of her ability to get people out of the palace. She was met with both respect and fear.
