Queen Elizabeth.Photo: STEVE PARSONS/getty
Queen Elizabethplayed a special role in her staff’s “Bubble Olympics” during COVID-19 lockdown in the U.K.
The 95-year-old monarch’s personal stylist and dressmaker Angela Kelly has updated her bestselling bookThe Other Side Of The Coin: The Queen, the Dresser and the Wardrobeto include reflections on the Queen’s life during the coronavirus pandemic, revealing a day of fun in March 2020 for the workers who were isolating at Windsor Castle alongside the Queen andPrince Philip.
Dubbed the “Bubble Olympics,” staff members took part in relay races and rounders (a British game similar to baseball without gloves) on the golf course at Windsor Home Park. They also enjoyed “champagne, biscuits and sweets.”
Queen Elizabeth.Ben Stansall - WPA Pool /Getty
Without the staff’s knowledge, Kelly had asked the Queen to hand out prizes.
The book jacket for the updated edition.Courtesy of HarperCollins
Kelly also took on a new role amid coronavirus lockdown: that of theQueen’s hair stylist.
“During the first two weeks, I was shaking,” Kelly wrote. “I had only done her hair once or twice before while on board the Royal Yacht Britannia. The Queen was so kind as she advised me on the very specific way to put the rollers in.”
As Kelly grew more comfortable in her new duty, the Queen wasn’t afraid to voice her opinions.
“As I grew in confidence I’m sure The Queen thought I was a professional and started shouting at me, ‘Don’t do that, do it this way. That’s right, you’ve got it, don’t change it.’ I was thinking, goodness me, I need a gin and tonic,” Kelly said. “So while The Queen was under the dryer I said to her, ‘I’m off for a stiff drink because this is so stressful, getting it just right for you.’ "
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After a “much-needed rest,” Kelly would return to the dressing home to style the Queen’s hair, using “a whole can of hairspray to make sure it lasted the week.”
“The routine was then set, and Lucy had a gin and tonic ready and waiting for me each time I came back upstairs,” she said.
source: people.com
