From royal cottage to remote Peak District bungalow, home Charles bought for late Queen’s confidante
WITH its weathered brick facade and plastic window frames, it’s a far cry from the grace-and-favour cottage she enjoyed for years as the Queen’s dresser.
But this £465,000 three-bedroom bungalow is a place Angela Kelly, 66, one of Queen Elizabeth’s closest confidantes, can finally call home thanks to the generosity of the King.
As reported by the MoS last year, Ms Kelly was asked to leave her Grade II-listed cottage on the Windsor estate within months of Her Majesty’s death in 2022.
However, Charles decided to honour his mother’s promise of lifelong accommodation for her dedicated
The deal bans her from sharing royal secrets
employee by discreetly having a house purchased.
Believed to be part of a deal banning Ms Kelly from ever sharing royal secrets, the 80s-style property is 160 miles from Berkshire in the Peak District, and enjoys stunning views of the rolling hills.
Paid for outright from the Royal Family’s Coutts bank account, it is thought the property will revert to the Crown when Ms Kelly dies.
While it may be a downgrade from her historic Windsor home, the bungalow boasts a spacious lounge with gas fire, a cosy dining room and openplan kitchen.
Ms Kelly has published two books about working with Her Majesty, and it is understood she had the Queen’s permission to write a third. But while providing her a home, a senior Palace aide acting for the King presented a non-disclosure agreement as part of the deal.
A well-placed source dubbed the NDA a ‘gagging order’ that banned the dresser from using the words ‘King’ and ‘Palace’ for commercial purposes.
Ms Kelly was adored by the late Queen and in 2018 even joined her and Vogue editor Dame Anna Wintour at London Fashion Week.
Appointed to the Royal Victorian Order in 2012, she was among a handful of personal staff at the Queen’s side during her final days. But Ms Kelly often ruffled colleagues’ feathers and was nicknamed ‘AK-47’ due to her temper.
When she returned to Windsor after the Queen’s death, carrying bags of Her Majesty’s belongings, the locks to the castle’s royal apartments had been changed, ending her unfettered access.
In May last year, Ms Kelly was photographed packing up her quaint cottage for a new life in the North, appearing overcome with emotion.