The latest episode of Our News Outlet’s Palace Confidential has revealed that a film exploring the close friendship between the late Queen and her longtime dresser Angela Kelly is reportedly in development.
The report was shared by Diary Editor Richard Eden, who said screenwriter Jeremy Brock could be developing the script.
Brock co-created the BBC hospital drama Casualty and wrote A Very Royal Scandal, the Prime Video series examining Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s damaging Newsnight interview.
It remains unclear whether Kelly, 68, is involved in the project, which is being produced by Fox Searchlight. However, the panel noted that presenting the story as a scripted drama in the vein of Netflix’s The Crown, rather than as a documentary, could give her more scope to participate.
Kelly has long been a prominent and sometimes controversial figure within royal circles. Born into a working-class family in Liverpool, she advanced through the Buckingham Palace ranks as a dresser before becoming the Queen’s Personal Assistant and official Curator of her wardrobe.
In his memoir Spare, Prince Harry also identified Kelly as a central figure in the so-called Tiaragate dispute, alleging that she held up Meghan’s access to her wedding tiara before a hair trial.
The latest episode of Palace Confidential examined reports that a film about the friendship between the late Queen and her trusted dresser Angela Kelly (pictured) is in development
Diary Editor Richard Eden (L) broke the story, suggesting that writer Jeremy Brock could be working on the screenplay
In Spare, Prince Harry blamed Kelly for the Tiaragate dispute, claiming she delayed Meghan’s access to her wedding tiara before a hair trial
“Angela Kelly is a fascinating figure,” Eden said on Palace Confidential.
He said the Queen had described Kelly as being “like a sister,” while adding that she could also be “very combative.” According to Eden, some courtiers gave her the nickname “AK-47,” combining her initials with the name of the submachine gun.
Eden also recalled that Kelly was moved out of her grace-and-favour home soon after the Queen’s death and was reportedly unhappy about the decision.
He suggested that the film could offer a highly accurate account of events, pointing to Kelly’s reported clashes with Harry and Meghan and Harry’s particularly harsh portrayal of her in Spare.
In the memoir, Harry described Kelly as a “troublemaker” and made clear that he disliked the influence she had with his grandmother.
Eden said the project’s reported working title, Trouble, may be a deliberate reference to Harry’s description of Kelly.
Charlotte Griffiths, the Mail on Sunday‘s Editor at Large, said Harry should be “quaking in his boots” at the prospect of the film being made.
“Speaking of Spare, there is material Angela witnessed during Tiaragate,” Griffiths said. “Apparently, there is another incident from around that period that those involved are hoping will not emerge in the drama.”
Daily Mail Royal Editor Rebecca English said some members of the Royal household resented the level of influence Kelly was believed to wield over the Queen.
English added that Kelly was deeply hurt by how quickly she was moved out following the Queen’s death at the age of 96.
“The Queen trusted her implicitly,” English said. She credited Kelly with helping transform the monarch’s style over the years and said the dresser would even massage the Queen’s feet after long days.
‘She was controversial, she was forthright, like a lot of people who work within the palaces. They become quite possessive of their fiefdom and they guard it quite jealously.
‘I had a story at the time [of the Queen’s death] that they effectively changed the locks so she couldn’t get back in. They ushered her out pretty blooming quickly.
‘She was so intrinsic in the household, they wanted her out basically.’
Watch the full breakdown of what the Angela Kelly film could mean for the Sussexes by subscribing to Palace Confidential on YouTube.
