Queen gave dress-maker Angela Kelly elocution lessions 'Her finger went up in the air'
QUEEN ELIZABETH II’s dress-maker has revealed how the monarch finally caved in to requests for an elocution lesson - but in her own distinctive way.
Queen’s ‘very special other sister’ discussed by royal expert
The Queen’s perfect elocution has impressed many during the her 67-year-long reign, including Angela Kelly, her dressmaker and confidant. Ms Kelly, who has worked for the Queen for a quarter of a century, recalled in her new book her desire to sound more like the monarch. To do so, Ms Kelly started asking her royal employer whether she could point her towards a good elocution teacher.
But the Queen didn’t seem to think Ms Kelly needed any, and initially “refused” to help her.
In The Other Side of the Coin: The Queen, The Dresser and the Wardrobe, Ms Kelly wrote: “Listening to and speaking with Her Majesty, I would think, how wonderful to be able to speak so nicely.
“After a few months of working with her, I plucked up the courage to ask if she knew anyone who might give me the elocution lessons I’d wanted for so long.
“The look on the Queen’s face was a picture.
“She simply asked, ‘Why?’
“After I had explained, she said that it was not necessary.
“I asked again and again, but she still refused.
“I then told Her Majesty my new idea: ‘You can give me elocution lessons!
“’You can tell me what I say that’s correct and what I say that isn’t.’”
READ MORE: Royal shock: How the Queen took ‘just five minutes’ to agree to this
The Queen, realising how persistent and determined Ms Kelly was, agreed on personally helping her to improve the elocution.
But she did so in a rather unique fashion.
Ms Kelly continued: “The Queen could probably sense that I wasn’t going to give up, so she instructed me to say one word: ‘Furious’.
“‘Fyer-ri-ous,’ I responded. ‘No, fee-or-ree-ous,’ said Her Majesty, in perfect received pronunciation.
“After several more attempts, I finally cracked it and Her Majesty exclaimed, ‘Yes!’ and her finger went up in the air, followed shortly by: ‘Not sick as a parrot.’
“And that was it – my one and only elocution lesson, and from the Queen herself.”
Ms Kelly continued learning from the Queen, she said, by simply listening carefully to the way the monarch was pronouncing some words.
She said: “From then on, I listened and tried my best to speak properly – even adding an H to words where it didn’t exist.
“But in the end I gave up: it was just too much effort.
“Ever since I’ve stuck to being myself, a girl from Liverpool and a proud Liverpudlian, too.”
The Queen has surely given signs of her appreciation for Ms Kelly during the years.
As a sign of appreciation for her work, the dressmaker was first appointed by the Queen as a sign of gratitude Member of the Royal Victorian Order (MVO) and later promoted to Lieutenant of the same Order (LVO) in 2012.
And she also received the royal approval to write her memoir.
In the book, Ms Kelly revealed that during the years she hasn’t just created the perfect outfits of the Queen, but also worn her new shoes out enough for the monarch not to be in pain.
She recalled: “As has been reported a lot in the press, a flunky wears in Her Majesty’s shoes to ensure that they are comfortable and that she is always good to go. And yes, I am that flunky.
“The Queen has very little time to herself and not time to wear in her own shoes, and as we share the same shoe size it makes the most sense this way.”