Fears grow that Queen Elizabeth’s closest confidante could spill royal secrets in explosive new film

Angela Kelly’s extraordinary relationship with the late Queen Elizabeth II is set to be brought to the screen in a new film which could offer a revealing look at one of the most unusual friendships inside the royal household.

The project, titled Trouble, will reportedly tell the story of Kelly’s decades-long relationship with the late monarch and is being written by Bafta-winning screenwriter Jeremy Brock.

Unlike an earlier report suggesting that Kelly would take part in a documentary about her life, the project is now understood to be a drama for Fox Searchlight, giving its creators greater freedom to portray events surrounding the former royal dresser and the Queen.

Brock’s agent has confirmed that he has been commissioned to write an original screenplay entitled Trouble, describing it as a film about the friendship between Elizabeth II and Angela Kelly.

The screenwriter previously worked on A Very Royal Scandal, the 2024 drama about Prince Andrew’s infamous BBC interview with Emily Maitlis.

Kelly, now 68, began working for the Royal Family in the 1990s and went on to become one of the most trusted members of the Queen’s household.

She was initially employed as a senior dresser but eventually took on responsibilities as the monarch’s personal adviser, curator and in-house designer.

Her relationship with Elizabeth became unusually close.

The Queen once described Kelly and herself as being like “sisters”, while Kelly was entrusted with highly personal aspects of the monarch’s daily life, including breaking in new shoes, arranging her hair and even massaging her feet.

Kelly was also among the small group of people present at Balmoral when Queen Elizabeth died in September 2022.

Her extraordinary access to the late Queen has previously raised questions about what she could reveal about her time at the Palace.

Royal staff are normally required to sign confidentiality agreements preventing them from discussing their work and the private affairs of members of the Royal Family.

However, Kelly was given unusual permission during Elizabeth’s reign to publish books about her work with the monarch.

Her 2019 memoir, The Other Side of the Coin: The Queen, the Dresser and the Wardrobe, was published with the late Queen’s blessing.

She had also previously published Dressing the Queen: The Jubilee Wardrobe, which examined the monarch’s clothing during her Diamond Jubilee year.

That history means the prospect of a dramatic portrayal of Kelly’s relationship with Elizabeth is likely to attract considerable interest.

Kelly was known for having a strong personality and was not universally popular among her fellow courtiers. Her willingness to speak her mind earned her the nickname “AK-47”, a reference to her initials and the Soviet-designed assault rifle.

Yet Kelly herself has repeatedly portrayed her relationship with Elizabeth as one based on mutual respect.

In a 2007 interview, she said the Queen treated her staff with respect and described their conversations as being between “two typical women”, discussing subjects including clothes, make-up and jewellery.

“I don’t know why the Queen seems fond of me – because I don’t give her an easy time!” Kelly said at the time.

The new film therefore has the potential to explore both sides of Kelly’s extraordinary position within the royal household: her remarkable closeness to the late Queen and the tensions that accompanied her influential role.