Queen spent time alone after Philip’s funeral, book reveals

The Queen shut herself in her sitting room and spent time “alone with her own thoughts” after the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral, according to her personal adviser.

Angela Kelly has updated her book about serving the Queen and included a new chapter that covers the pandemic and Philip’s funeral, which took place under strict Covid restrictions that prevented the monarch from sitting with family members during the service.

Ms Kelly, the Queen’s senior dresser and personal adviser, described her return to Windsor Castle from St George’s Chapel last April.

“I helped her off with her coat and hat and no words were spoken,” she wrote, according to Hello! magazine, which is publishing the new chapter this week.

“The Queen then walked to her sitting room, closed the door behind her, and she was alone with her own thoughts.”

Ms Kelly was part of “HMS Bubble”, the nickname believed to have been given to the reduced household of dedicated staff who isolated with the head of state during lockdown.

In her revised book, The Other Side Of The Coin: The Queen, The Dresser And The Wardrobe, first published in 2019, she also described the “sombre” mood among the team when they were informed of Philip’s death.