Queen Elizabeth had a number of key aides she relied upon (Image: Getty)
Queen Elizabeth II had a large number of officials and advisers who she relied upon during her historic 70-year reign.
From dressers to footmen, advisers to chefs, the late monarch was surrounded by a team of dedicated staff whose number one priority was safeguarding the Queen and the institution itself.
The Royal Family sees hundreds of different employees walk through it’s doors but due to the close proximity of working arrangements, members often become close to just a handful of staffers.
Three aides in particular became Queen Elizabeth’s most trusted confidantes: Lord Young, Angela Kelly and Paul Whybrew, but all of them have since stepped down from their roles in the Royal Household.
The Daily Express takes a look at where they are now.
Read more: Queen Elizabeth’s friend opens up about what job she would have loved to do
Lord Young
Sir Edward Young – now Lord Young – was the late Queen’s trusted Private Secretary and stepped down from his role in May.
He served the former monarch for 18 years, from 2004 until her death, and stayed on until shortly after the Coronation to help smooth the transition to the new reign.
Following his decision to leave the Royal Household, he was granted a peerage and appointed a Lord in Waiting, which means he can represent the King at important state and royal occasions. He was also appointed a Knight Grand Cross Order of the Bath, an ancient order of chivalry.
A Palace spokesman said at the time that Lord Young had brought “a vast reservoir of wisdom and experience to bear on helping to deliver the change of reign.”
Lord Young stayed on to help the transition between monarchs (Image: Getty)
Angela Kelly
The Queen’s personal assistant and outfit designer Angela Kelly’s exit from the royal fold was not as plain sailing.
The 65-year-old had been given a grace-and-favour home on the Windsor estate by the late monarch but when she was told that there was no future for her within the royal household she opted to relocate to the Peak District to be nearer her family.
The move prompted much publicity, as she packed up her things and even mentioned it on her Instagram account, telling friends: “Getting ready to say goodbye. I am moving at last to my new home, which I will be able to call My Home at last.”
The King provided a new home for the Liverpool-born dresser on the proviso that she signs a non disclosure agreement (NDA) to prevent her from spilling royal secrets and profiting from her time as one of the late Queen’s closest confidantes.
Kelly has already released two books – with Queen Elizabeth’s blessing – but Charles was unhappy with some of the intimate details she revealed in the books and was keen to put a stop to a third to avoid any more embarrassing revelations coming to light.
Read more: Heartbreaking final pictures of Queen Elizabeth II on this day last year
Angela Kelly at Queen Elizabeth’s funeral (Image: Getty)
Paul Whybrew
The Queen’s dresser wasn’t the only aide to have been promised a home for life by Her Majesty, as retired footman Paul Whybrew has a cottage on the Windsor estate. They are the only two courtiers to have been given the privilege.
Nicknamed Tall Paul for his impressive height of 6ft 4in, Whybrew served Queen Elizabeth for 44 years and was one of her most loyal members of staff.
He has fondly been described as the late monarch’s favourite courtier, and worked as page of the backstairs until her death.
Whybrew, a retired footman who was appointed Serjeant-at-Arms in 2008, was often by the late Queen’s side and is said to have kept her company while watching television and helped her complete jigsaw puzzles.
He was among 10 members of staff to accompany the coffin as the Queen left Buckingham Palace for the final time.
Paul Whybrew became very close to the late Queen (Image: Getty)
The former courtier also apprehended Michael Fagan when he broke into the Queen’s bedroom in 1982 and appeared in the infamous 2012 Olympics Bond sketch.
Though he has retired, the King has entrusted him with sifting through her personal correspondence.
He spends two days a week cataloguing the Queen’s handwritten diary and treasure trove of documents.
Some of the files will be made public, others will be held by the King and the rest will be filed within the restricted archives at the Windsor Castle library.
Outside of the trio of retired aides, King Charles has made very few changes to the remaining courtiers.
The make-up of the Lord Chamberlain Committee, which is effectively the King’s senior leadership team and is responsible for organising ceremonial activities and public facing events, has remained relatively unchanged since the Queen’s death, suggesting that the King is keeping many of his mother’s top advisers close.
Key continuities include Lord Park, the Lord Chamberlain, Sir Michael Stevens, Keeper of the Privy Purse, and Vice Admiral Sir Tony Johnstone-Burt, Master of the Household.
