HarperCollins signs book from Queen's personal advisor

HarperCollins will publish a book by the Queen’s personal advisor and in-house designer Angela Kelly, who has worked with the Royal Household for 25 years, after becoming the "first serving member of the Royal Household to have been given this extraordinary permission" to write a book about her experience.

HarperNonFiction editorial director Katya Shipster struck the deal for world all languages for The Other Side of the Coin with Elizabeth Sheinkman at the Peters Fraser and Dunlop agency. It will be published in all HarperCollins territories on on 29th October 2019 across all editions. The audiobook read by Kelly.

Kelly has worked with the Queen and walked the corridors of the Royal Household for 25 years, initially as the Queen’s senior dresser and then latterly as personal advisor and curator focusing on the Queen’s jewellery, insignias and wardrobe, and as in-house designer. “As the first person in history to hold this title, she shares a uniquely close working relationship with the Queen,” the publisher said.

“In The Other Side of the Coin, the Queen has personally given Angela her blessing to share their unparalleled bond with the world. Angela Kelly is the first serving member of the Royal Household to have been given this extraordinary permission. Whether it’s preparing for a formal occasion or brightening Her Majesty’s day with a playful joke, Angela’s priority is to serve and support. Sharing never-before-seen photographs – many from Angela’s own private collection – and charming anecdotes of their time spent together, this revealing book provides memorable insights into what it’s like to work closely with The Queen, to curate her wardrobe and to discover a true and lasting connection along the way.”

Samantha Cohen, assistant private secretary to the Queen between 2011 and 2018, said: “This book documents the unique working relationship between Her Majesty the Queen and the woman who has been her personal advisor and senior dresser for more than two decades: Angela Kelly. It gives a rare glimpse into the demands of the job of supporting the Monarch, and we gain privileged insight into a successful working relationship, characterised by humour, creativity, hard work, and a mutual commitment to service and duty.”

Cohen added: “Angela is a talented and inspiring woman, who has captured the highlights of her long career with the Queen for us all to share.”

Shipster said: “We are extremely proud to be Angela Kelly’s publishers for this beautiful book; this project has been a labour of love for a whole team of people at HarperCollins. Angela is a remarkable woman, and what I find particularly fascinating about her working partnership with the Queen – something that has been revealed to me over this process – is just how many elements Angela must take into account when she designs for Her Majesty.

“The work undertaken by Angela and her team is to ensure that anyone in the same room as the Queen will be awestruck, and the way they deliver this reaction is incredibly detailed and clever. The book, and its many gorgeous photographs, sheds light on all of this, as well as the history of Angela’s role, but more importantly and interestingly on the extraordinary working relationship between Her Majesty and one of her most trusted employees, giving us a personal glimpse of the other side of that famous image on every British coin.”