A film detailing the longtime friendship between Queen Elizabeth II and her trusted dresser Angela Kelly is in the works – and it could shed light on some of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s most controversial moments.
Royal expert Richard Eden first revealed news of the project to the Daily Mail and claimed that Jeremy Brock – who wrote the 2024 TV series A Very Royal Scandal about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s bombshell Newsnight interview – is working on the script.
However, while Kelly’s involvement in the film is not yet known, it is widely believed her role in the “tiaragate” scandal will be included in the project and shed light on what really happened in the lead-up to the Sussexes’ wedding.
Eden sat down with Palace Confidential to discuss the controversial project as well as its subject, dubbing Kelly, 68, “a fascinating figure”.
“The Queen described her as like a sister… but she was also very combative. She had the nickname among some courtiers of AK-47. AK for Angela Kelly, but a bit like the submachine gun,” he added.
Eden went on to reveal that, when Queen Elizabeth passed away in September 2022, Kelly was moved out of her “grace and favour” cottage on the Windsor grounds, which she “wasn’t very happy about”.
He added of the film: “There are whispers that it’s going to be a very accurate portrayal. It’s a big deal… you might remember she had some really lively rows with Harry and Meghan, and Harry is particularly unpleasant about her in his book.”
In the Duke of Sussex’s 2023 memoir Spare, he described Kelly as a “troublemaker” and claimed that she was obstructive in the lead-up to his nuptials when Markle requested access to her chosen wedding tiara, Queen Mary’s Diamond Bandeau.
However, it is not only the “tiaragate” incident that could be dredged up in the film, according to Daily Mail’s Charlotte Griffiths
“Speaking of Spare, the stuff Angela saw during tiaragate. Apparently there’s another incident from around that time that they are praying does not come out in this drama,” she claimed.
She adds that Harry should be “quaking in his boots” as the controversial film looms.
Kelly was appointed as one of the Queen’s dressers in 1993 and, in 2001, gained the official title of personal assistant, adviser and curator to Her Majesty the Queen.
She quickly became a close confidante of the Queen and was even present at Balmoral Castle during her final days.
However, an insider told the Daily Mail that Kelly’s close relationship with the monarch over the years is sure to be a concern to the Royal Family if she’s planning a tell-all.
“She knows everything you ever wanted to know, including the Queen’s real views on Meghan,” the source told the publication, adding: “I don’t think the Palace has a leg to stand on if she wants to tell her story. If Harry and Meghan can break all the rules, why can’t she?”