Personal Assistant, Adviser and Curator to the late Queen Elizabeth II (1993–2022)
Mary Angela Kelly, CVO (born 4 November 1957) is a British fashion designer, dressmaker, and milliner, who served as Personal Assistant and Senior Dresser to Queen Elizabeth II from 1993 until the monarch's death in 2022.[1] Her official title was Personal Assistant, Adviser and Curator to Her Majesty The Queen (Jewellery, Insignias and Wardrobe).[2]
Kelly began working for the Queen after gaining employment as the Queen's Dresser following an interview at Windsor Castle in 1994.[5] She was responsible for the Queen's clothes, jewellery and insignia, researching the venues for royal visits as well as the significance of different colours, in order to create appropriate outfits for the monarch.[6] In 2019, Kelly announced that the Queen would only wear faux-furs.[7]
Notable creations by Kelly include:
The replica of the royal christening gown.[8][9] The original, which had been commissioned by Queen Victoria for the christening of her first child, Victoria, Princess Royal, was retired in 2004 by Elizabeth II for conservation purposes.[8] Kelly's replica has been worn by royal babies for their christenings since 2008.[10]
Together with British fashion designer Stewart Parvin, Kelly altered, remodeled and fitted the dress that Princess Beatrice of York wore at her wedding to Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi on 17 July 2020. The original dress was designed by the British fashion designer Norman Hartnell, who had created it for Queen Elizabeth II, the bride's grandmother, in the 1960s.[13]
Prince Harry alleged that Kelly was obstructive regarding a tiara promised by the Queen to his fiancé Meghan Markle for a rehearsal with her hairdresser prior to their wedding in 2016. Harry wrote in his memoir Spare that Kelly refused as "the tiara would require an orderly and a police escort to leave the palace" and that "She fixed me with a look that made me shiver. I could read in her face a clear warning. 'This isn't over.'".[14] Kelly did not respond to Harry's recollections in his memoir.[15]
Kelly founded a fashion label, Kelly & Pordum, with Alison Pordum, who was also employed as the Queen's in-house dressmaker until 2008.[17] Kelly is also the author of Dressing the Queen: The Jubilee Wardrobe and The Other Side of the Coin: The Queen, the Dresser and the Wardrobe.
