The Other Side of the Coin: the Queen, the dresser and the wardrobe by Angela Kelly. If asked which living person I’d most like to meet, without a doubt, it’s Queen Elizabeth II. She’s been in the public eye her entire life, on the throne for almost seventy years, and yet still maintains a sense of mystery about her private activities. Angela Kelly, who has worked in the Royal Household since 1994 provides a unique perspective on at least one aspect of the Queen’s life with her second book about the Queen’s outfits, hats, jewelry and the huge operation it is to coordinate it all. I love paying attention to tiny details when working, but the level that goes into preparing the Queen for any public outing is amazing: making sure the color is vibrant enough so that the huge crowds can spot her from afar, keeping the brim of her hats short so that her face is visible, assuring sleeve lengths won’t get caught when she holds her purse, and sewing tiny weights into hems if it’s going to be blustery outside. Kelly maintains intricate records to make sure that specific outfits or colors aren’t overused, especially at annual events like Royal Ascot. She also describes the teamwork involved with major appearances such as the Opening of Parliament and the Christmas Message, where she works with the television production team to make sure the Queen doesn’t “disappear into the background,” as if that could happen! The Queen’s own personality: her loyalty to staff members she trusts (as evidenced in the story of their first meeting), her sense of humor, and even her thriftiness all come through in the anecdotes Kelly recounts. Supplementing the text are hundreds of photos of the Queen and the wardrobe, some of them extreme closeups showing fabric patterns, beading, lace work and other features. Despite not having much interest in fashion, I found this book to be fascinating and very hard to put down.
For all my previous “books of the year” lists, see my dedicated page for these titles.
The unset alarm clock 
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