Skip to main content

Buckingham Palace announced the news on Sept. 8, 2022, that Queen Elizabeth II had died. She was 96. With the monarch’s passing came many questions and one is regarding what will happen to the staffers who worked for her.

Here’s more on that, plus the one employee the queen ensured would be allowed to continue living at Windsor after her death.

Queen Elizabeth II attends an audience with the President of Switzerland Ignazio Cassis at Windsor Castle
Queen Elizabeth II attends an audience with the President of Switzerland Ignazio Cassis at Windsor Castle | Dominic Lipinski – WPA Pool/Getty Images

What will happen to Queen Elizabeth’s aides and household staff?

As the late queen‘s employees mourn her death, they are also wondering if they will still have a job within the royal household.

Some palace workers signed contracts that expire six months after their boss’s death meaning they face uncertain futures at the beginning of their six-month grace period. Other staffers who worked for the royal family matriarch have a month’s notice following the end of her reign to find another job or be redeployed to another royal household.

But one woman who no longer has an official role at Windsor Castle can still remain there in the wake of the monarch’s death and that is her trusted aide Angela Kelly.

Who is Angela Kelly?

Angela Kelly (Personal Assistant and Dress Maker to Queen Elizabeth II) leaves the Goring Hotel after an event
Angela Kelly leaves the Goring Hotel after an event | Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images

Kelly was Queen Elizabeth’s Personal Assistant and Senior Dresser as well as one of her closest confidants. Prior to that, she was a housekeeper for the British Ambassador to Germany Sir Christopher Mallaby. Kelly began working for the monarch in the ’90s and was promoted to her role in 2002.

“I suppose the queen must have liked me and decided I was trustworthy and discreet,” Kelly previously told The Telegraph of her promotion.

She worked alongside Queen Elizabeth almost every day and was part of “HMS Bubble” during the first coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown. Kelly always spoke very fondly of her employer and the relationship they had.

“I love the queen and everything about her,” she stated. “She has allowed me to become closer to her over the years. I would never overstep the mark and I remain in awe of the queen.”

Kelly moved into her grace-and-favour home at Windsor just three months before the queen died. And the Daily Mail reported the monarch gave Kelly authority to continue living there after her death.

Many of King Charles staffers were notified that they could lose their jobs

Related

Queen Elizabeth II’s Former Employee Reveals How Living at Buckingham Palace Is Like ‘Downton Abbey’

Now that King Charles III is the reigning monarch and will reportedly be moving into Buckingham Palace, many of his Clarance House staffers are waiting to hear what that means for them.

According to The Guardian, up to 100 employees at Clarence House could become jobless including private secretaries, the finance office, the communications team, and the housekeeping staff.

The outlet obtained a letter sent to the employees that read: “The change in role for our principals will also mean change for our household … The portfolio of work previously undertaken in this household supporting the former Prince of Wales’ personal interests, former activities, and household operations will no longer be carried out, and the household … at Clarence House will be closed down. It is therefore expected that the need for the posts principally based at Clarence House, whose work supports these areas will no longer be needed.”

The king’s spokesperson added: “Our staff have given long and loyal service and, while some redundancies will be unavoidable, we are working urgently to identify alternative roles for the greatest number of staff.”

Best in Entertainment