Hands out of pockets

THE Queen confided in her dresser Angela Kelly in 2012 that she had long harboured a secret wish. When she was a child, her elders — especially Queen Mary — had insisted she always kept her hands out of her pockets. And, just to make sure, all the pockets in all her clothes had been sewn up. Even after she grew up, the Queen Mother as well as the Queen’s own advisers had insisted that being seen with her hands in her pockets was not a good look. Yet for years Elizabeth had longed to make a childhood dream come true: to be photographed doing just that. Angela Kelly went into action. She brought in photographer Barry Jeffery, who shot Her Majesty as she mimicked the poses of a professional model, with and without her hands in the pockets of a white dress. For several years, the pictures remained private — not least because, according to Kelly, officials from the Royal Collection argued that the informal photographs could bring down the monarchy. However, in 2019, the entire set was released — and the sky did not fall in.