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The late Queen’s right-hand woman, Angela Kelly, has been recognised by the King in a special honours awards marking the former monarch’s death.
But there was surprise in royal circles that the straight-talking Liverpudlian, who was so close to Queen Elizabeth that she wore in her shoes and was given the title of Personal Assistant, Adviser and Curator to Her Majesty, did not get a top honour.
Miss Kelly was among many of the Queen’s closest and longest-serving aides who were recognised in a ‘Demise’ honours list. So too were hundreds of people who played an important role during her funeral.
They include members of the RAF flight crew who brought her coffin down to London from Scotland, as well as military coffin bearers and those who organised her state funeral.
Instead of being made a DCVO – Dame Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (RVO) – like the Queen’s long-serving diary secretary, Helen Cross, Miss Kelly has been upgraded only to a CVO, or Commander.
The late Queen’s right-hand woman, Angela Kelly (right), has been recognised by the King in a special honours awards marking the former monarch’s death
Royal Navy saliors take the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II, draped in a Royal Standard and adorned with the Imperial State Crown
The move led one insider to ponder whether ‘scores were being settled’. Many in the royal household were suspicious, and possibly jealous, of Miss Kelly’s hold over the Queen.
Last year the Daily Mail revealed that days after her death in September the locks were even changed on the late monarch’s apartments so Miss Kelly, 65, the daughter of a dock worker, could not gain access, although she has retained her home on the Windsor estate at Her Majesty’s request.
There is also concern that Miss Kelly, nicknamed ‘AK-47’ for her fiery personality, had been given permission by the late Queen to bring out a book after her death and may go on the talk show circuit in the US.
Membership of the RVO is in the King’s gift and bestowed independently of the Government to people who have served the monarch or the Royal Family in a personal way. The Demise awards would have been decided by a committee of five senior officials and then ‘signed off’ by the King.
The most distinguished honour – a Knight Grand Cross – has gone to the Marquess of Cholmondeley, formerly the late Queen’s Lord Great Chamberlain, and her former Lord Steward, the Earl of Dalhousie.
Former ladies in waiting Philippa de Pass and Jenny Gordon Lennox have also been made Dames of the Royal Victorian Order, while Lady Elizabeth Leeming and Susan Rhodes are to be made Lieutenants.
The late monarch’s long-serving Page Paul Whybrew – dubbed ‘Tall Paul’ for his towering height – who starred with the Queen in her famous ‘Bond’ skit for the London 2012 Olympics, is to be made a Commander. The Queen’s loyal groom, Terry Pendry, who appeared with her horse, Emma, at her funeral, is also to be made a Commander.
Lady Susan Hussey, the Queen’s chief lady in waiting, who found herself at the centre of a toxic race row before Christmas, is not included in the list – but she already holds the highest of any honours the monarchy is able to bestow.
Queen’s pallbearers awarded royal Victorian medal for service during funeral
The eight pallbearers who carried the Queen’s coffin have been awarded the silver Royal Victorian Medal in recognition of the important role they played at her funeral.
Lance Sergeant Alex Turner, Lance Corporal Tony Flynn, Lance Sergeant Elias Orlowski, Guardsman Fletcher Cox, Guardsman James Patterson, Lance Sergeant Ryan Griffiths, Guardsman Luke Simpson, and Guardsman David Sanderson were selected to be pallbearers from the King’s Company (then Queen’s), 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards.
The eight pallbearers who carried the Queen’s coffin have been awarded the silver Royal Victorian Medal in recognition of the important role they played at her funeral
The soldiers were named as recipients of honours under the Royal Victorian Order (RVO) in recognition of their service to the Queen, as part of a special set of Demise awards.
Awards under the RVO are in the King’s gift and are bestowed independently of Downing Street to people who have served the monarch or the royal family in a personal way.
The soldiers carried the coffin draped in the Royal Standard as millions of people around the world watched the ceremony last September.
The unit had a close connection with the Queen – as the serving monarch she held the position of company commander and made a personal review of the company every decade.
The work of the eight pallbearers was highlighted during the broadcast of the Queen’s funeral, with viewers describing themselves as holding their breath when the guardsmen had to carry the coffin up the steps to the West Door of St George’s Chapel.
Tory former minister Eddie Hughes said: ‘I held my breath for every step… These lads are amazing.’
Fellow Tory MP Tom Hunt said at the time: ‘I can’t imagine how hard and emotionally challenging it must have been to have carried Her Late Majesty’s coffin just once.
‘They’ve done it time and time again this week. With billions watching. They’ve done Her Late Majesty and the country proud.’
Carla Lockhart, Upper Bann’s DUP MP, said: ‘Amidst the pageantry and occasion, eight young men silently went about their duty.
”The weight of the world on their shoulders, the glare of the world on them, but they were flawless.
‘They did themselves, their families and our country proud. Thank you.’
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