‘The Crown’ Season 6 Part II: This Blink-and-Miss-It Scene Showed Queen Elizabeth’s ‘Secret Weapon’ Angela Kelly
Many people close to Queen Elizabeth II are depicted in The Crown Season 6 Part II, the final chapter of the Netflix original series. Largely it comes down to Prince Charles (Dominic West), Prince William (Ed McVey), and Princess Margaret (Lesley Manville). In between major storylines, however, is a quick glimpse of another person close to the late queen, her dresser Ahead, find out where to see The Crown’s depiction of Angela Kelly, the “unexpected fun” actor Lizzie Hopley had portraying her, and Prince Harry’s dispute with the real-life Kelly.
Queen Elizabeth’s former dresser, Angela Kelly, is depicted in ‘The Crown’ Season 6 Episode 10
Look for Kelly, as played by actor-writer Lizzie Hopley, in the series finale of The Crown, season 6’s tenth episode titled, “Sleep, Dearie Sleep.”
However, don’t be prepared for a verbal callout from Imelda Staunton’s Queen Elizabeth II. Kelly’s character isn’t referred to by name. Instead, look for Kelly in the episode’s opening scene.
In it, the queen’s going about her morning at Buckingham Palace, where she has her clothes prepared by “a blonde aide with a distinct Liverpudlian accent,” according to Newsweek.
“Identifiable as Kelly, she talks the queen through her diary for the day in a casual manner very unlike the royal’s interactions with other staff members on the show, alluding to the closeness rumored of their real-life counterparts.”
Kelly, who worked as Personal Assistant and Senior Dresser to Queen Elizabeth from 1993 to her death in 2022, wrote two books on the queen: 2012’s Dressing the Queen and 2019’s The Other Side of the Coin: The Queen, the Dresser and the Wardrobe.
Lizzie Hopley filmed the Angela Kelly scene on ‘The Crown’ shortly after the queen’s 2022 death
Filming the scene with Staunton proved to be a “tribute” to the queen, who died on Sept. 8, 2022, not long before Hopley and Staunton were in front of the camera together.
“I shot Angela’s scenes with Imelda quite soon after losing the queen,” Hopley told the outlet. “For Imelda, it was a strange time, and having everything so beautifully reproduced by the creative team was a haunting tribute.”
“Working in the replica of her office felt close to experiencing Kelly’s level of love and duty,” the actor continued, noting “all that loyalty and love poured into one woman. The queen described them as being more like sisters. What a tribute.”
There was also some “unexpected fun,” too. “Playing Angela was unexpected fun,” Hopley said. “Like me, she’s a Scouser born to working-class parents. But then she became this secret weapon to the queen.”
“The queen headhunted her and then forbade her to have elocution for her Scouse [Liverpool] accent, which says brilliant things about them both,” she added.
Prince Harry dealt with Queen Elizabeth’s ‘troublemaker’ aide, Angela Kelly, on Meghan Markle’s wedding tiara
The Duke of Sussex recounted his own experience with Kelly in Spare, his January 2023 memoir. Harry claimed Kelly made getting access to Queen Mary’s bandeau tiara unnecessarily difficult. At the time, in spring 2018, Meghan needed it to do a hair trial before their royal wedding at the queen’s suggestion.
“She was being obstructive, obviously, but for what reason?” Harry wrote of Kelly. “To my mind, Angela was a troublemaker, and I didn’t need her as an enemy.”
Finally, Kelly handed over the tiara — no orderly and police escort as originally said — after Harry signed a release form.
The Crown Seasons 1-6 are streaming on Netflix.
